Himachal's remotest poll booth shifted

Himachal Pradesh's remotest polling booth located at an altitude of 2,800 metres and inaccessible by road has been shifted by the Election Commission for administrative reasons, an official said Monday.

"The only polling booth at Bara Bhangal has been shifted. Now the voters of this village will exercise franchise at the Bir polling booth (in Baijnath tehsil)," a government official said.

The decision in this regard has been taken by the state election commission, the official added.

After the closure of the Bara Bhangal booth in Kangra district, people would have to trudge over 35 km to Bir to cast their vote.

Election officials earlier said that poll material for Bara Bhangal, located 65 km from the last village which is connected by road, was sent either through porters or airlifted.

Bara Bhangal, accessible by foot through the Thamsar Pass at an attitude of 4,700 metres has a population of around 400 people. Most of them migrated to Bir, near Palampur town, some 250 km from state capital Shimla, during the winter.