Snow keeping campaigners off remote Lahaul-Spiti

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, April 19

Campaigners are unable to reach tribal district Lahaul-Spiti as the area is covered under heavy snow.

The other reason is the closed Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul. It has been blocked since December last year.

BJP and Congress candidates are not able to gain access to Lahaul, where 23,407 voters will exercise their right to elect their MP from Mandi seat.

As the elections are nearing, the candidates have no idea how to reach out to the voters. Locals said there was no hullabaloo as the candidates had no access to the remote areas. The candidates too are worried. Though a few internal roads have been restored for traffic, most roads are still closed. 

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Public Works Department (PWD) have engaged its workforce and machinery in the slow-clearing operation, which is bound to take time.

Now, all eyes are on the Election Commission (EC) as it will decide whether to allow the movement of common people and election officials via the Rohtang tunnel between Manali and Lahaul. It is being expected that the BRO will connect the Manali-Lahaul road via the tunnel within a week, but people's entry will be allowed only after the EC's permission.

The state government and Lahaul-Spiti administration have taken up the matter with the EC, urging it to ask the BRO to allow the movement of people via the tunnel until the restoration of the pass. 

Political analysts said if the tunnel was not opened, it would mar the election campaign. The restoration of Rohtang Pass is expected by May-end.