- Polling stations are being constructed on the eve of the local election 2079 BS but there are some difficulties in the construction of the centers. When the Election Commission determined the polling stations on the basis of the 2074 election, difficulties have arisen in the construction of ‘booths’.
According to the Election Commission, problems have been observed in about 50 centers in Kathmandu Valley, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur alone. Chief Commissioner of the Commission Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya in an interview with Gorkhapatra Daily on Wednesday evening said that they are addressing the construction of polling booths and other technical issues for the polling to be held on Friday.
Eighty-five polling stations and 3,372 polling booths have been added in the local election 2079 BS since the local election 2074 BS. New polling stations and centers were added on the recommendation of the district polling station and polling station review committee. However, problems were seen in the old polling stations and the center, said Shaligram Sharma Poudel, spokesperson of the commission. According to him, in the 2074 election, it has been found that there are no buildings for material management in some polling stations which have infrastructures including buildings.
Within the main market area of Kathmandu, Kathmandu Metropolitan City ward no. As three polling stations have been identified in the Sankata temple premises, problems were seen in the management of tents, furniture and other materials. Arun Prakash Bhatta, polling officer of Sankata Mandir ‘A’ polling station, said that there was a problem in the preparations for the construction of the polling station. He said, “We have appointed volunteers, distributed identity cards to the polling representatives, voter identity cards are being distributed but there are problems in the management of furniture, tents and other materials.”
Spokesperson Poudel, on the other hand, said that the commission has been instructed to bear the cost of setting up the centers without infrastructure. The challenge has been added to the commission even after the weather forecast department forecast partial rain on Thursday and Friday. Taking into account the forecast, the commission has directed to arrange tents in the polling stations. Spokesperson Poudel said that the polling stations in Gandaki and Karnali have been instructed to make arrangements accordingly as it is likely to rain on polling day. One lakh nine thousand 88 employees and 65 thousand 865 volunteers have been mobilized in 21 thousand 955 polling stations across the country.
