Pemma Wangchen Gurung, vice-chairman of the rural municipality, says that since the area is remote, there is no possibility of voters there reaching another center to cast their votes.
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The total population of Phot village in Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality-6 of the district is 85. Out of the 40 voters in the remote village, 21 are male and 19 are female. In the 2079 election, there were a total of 34 voters in Phot village. This time, 6 people have been added.
District Election Officer Dilkrishna Shrestha said that due to the small number of voters, almost 100 percent voting is done. In 2079, 31 votes were cast. ‘It takes 5/6 days to reach Phot village from the district headquarters Dunai,’ he said. ‘It is a settlement from ancient times. However, the population is low.’
Ward member Koizor Gurung said that the village is located in an uncharted place. He said that the residents there are forced to live in hardship due to lack of basic services. Even now, the village does not have basic facilities such as education, health, communication, roads, electricity. He believes that the settlement should be relocated as it is not easy to provide such facilities.
There is no school and health post in the village. According to the people’s representatives there, the residents of Phot are living a Stone Age life even in the 21st century. According to ward member Gurung, even though the municipality has built a child development center, it is not operational due to the lack of a facilitator teacher. According to locals, they have to cross a mountain pass that is more than 5,000 meters high to reach the village. During winter, most residents descend to the valley to escape the cold. Since Kartik, they have been descending to the valley because it has been raining heavily and it is extremely cold. Member Gurung said that around 30/35 people live in the winter and 40/45 people live in the rainy season because it is warm. Since there is no school in the village, local children reach Shey-Phoksundo-6, wet and learn their letters. ‘They have to walk for a day to reach Phot wet. There is no possibility of returning after studying,’ he said, ‘Those who have relatives and friends keep their children there and teach them.’ There is a problem with health care in the village. The government has not established a health post. Even if you have a simple illness, you have to walk for a day.
The general public depends on Amchi (traditional Tibetan healing method). In case of emergency treatment and rescue, you are forced to charter a helicopter. Some families have been forced to go into debt by paying 8/10 lakhs for chartering a helicopter. Those who do not have money are forced to lose their lives. There is no phone service in the village. After climbing the mountain, you can connect to the tower.
Potatoes, phapar, and lice are produced in the forest located at the corner of the mountain. However, it is not enough to eat throughout the year. Since there is no market nearby, if you want to buy salt, oil, clothes, and rice, you have to take a yak to Dunai, Mustang, and Chinese areas. It takes a day to reach the center of the rural municipality. The source of income for the locals is the collection of Yarsagumba.
Locals said that domestic and foreign tourists visiting Mugu will also do very little business as there is a trekking route to Rara Lake. Ward member Gurung said that he will not be able to go to the elections this time as the roads are closed due to snowfall. He said that if he tries to go forcibly, there will be a risk of death.
Another place with fewer voters is Dolpobuddha-2. There are 64 voters there. In 2079, out of 68 voters, 47 votes were cast. There are 95 voters in She-Phoksundo-7, Ku village. There are only 83 voters in Pungdabagar, Charkatangsong Rural Municipality-2.
The highest number of voters in the district's 68 polling stations is Thuliveri Municipality-6, Thargaun. There are 938 voters. There are 899 voters in Tripurasundari Municipality-1 Tripurakot.
Pemma Wangchen Gurung, vice-chairman of the rural municipality, says that since Fot is a remote area, there is no possibility of voters there reaching another center to cast their votes. He said that the services provided by the local government in Fot have not been effective due to the unreliable internet service provided by Worldlink to the ward municipality.
