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PRI polls: 9 of 13 panchayats in Spiti choose village heads through consensus
The polling for panchayats in Spiti is slated for January 17.
At a time when the candidates in the fray for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) elections are moving door-to-door to garner support, residents in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district have shown the way for electing their representatives unanimously. The elections for the panchayats in Himachal are slated for January 17, 19, and 21.
An example has been set-up by nine out of the total 13 panchayats in the snow-bound Spiti region where only four panchayats will witness the secret ballot elections as the rest have already reached consensus on the posts of pradhan and up-pradhan.
The polling for panchayats in Spiti is slated for January 17.
Even the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national president JP Nadda’s native panchayat, Vijaypur, which falls in the Bilaspur district, had set an example of sorts by electing its new representative by a community consensus.
The filing of the nomination papers was closed on January 2 and the last date of withdrawals is January 6.
“This time the tribals tried hard to evolve consensus amongst the aspiring candidates even as both the major political parties Congress and BJP are backing their own workers. People in the region realised that elections in the pandemic were more challenging for them and tried their level best to evolve consensus,” said Gian Sagar Neg, additional district magistrate, Kaza, who himself played a vital role in convincing the candidates.
“In many panchayats, the post of pradhan and up-pradhan and other members were decided through a toss, he said. In Tabo, which is one of the biggest Buddhist learning centers in the Lahaul and Spiti region, the local leaders owing allegiance to Congress and BJP evolved consensus to select the candidates.
When the Centre had only imposed the lockdown on March 24 last year, Spiti valley had begun formulating strategies, raising awareness, and holding discussions about the virus in February 2020.
Locals formed a committee for preventive measures and sustainable development (CPMSD) comprising youth, women, local panchayats, gram sabhas, social action groups, and lamas from five monasteries.
“Campaigning door-to-door may lead to a spike in the Covid-19 cases and the region still lacks medical facilities,” said Lara Tesring, a local tour operator in Kaza.
The committee decided to shut all hotels, dhabas, and transport services in the area before the national lockdown was imposed. However, in spite of the different strategies to check the pandemic, the virus claimed three lives and 519 persons tested positive of the total 5,298 who were tested. As of now, there are 19 active cases in the region.
Spiti region gripped by intense cold wave after a fresh snowfall, the night temperature in the region dips to -18°C.
