Mizoram Polls: 19 villages can be reached by boats, 22 on foot only

Cody edited by Bhargobi Khaund

Election officials in Mizoram have identified 19 villages in the state which can be reached by boats only. Six of these villages can be accessed by boats even even during the dry season. These villages are located in the southern districts of Lunglei, Lawngtlai, and Mamit, near the borders of Tripura, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

There are 10 villages in the West Tuipui assembly constituency and 4 villages in the Thorang Assembly seat, both situated near the Bangladesh border in the Lunglei district. Additionally, there are 4 villages in the Lawngtlai West assembly seat bordering Myanmar and 1 village in the Mamit constituency bordering Bangladesh.

Of the 6 villages needing water transport throughout the year, three are in the West Tuipui assembly seat, two are in the Thorang seat, and one is in the Mamir assembly seat.

Moreover, there are 22 polling stations in various districts where polling parties have to travel on foot. These stations are located in Lunglei district (11), Mamit district (6), and Lawngtlai district (5).
Notably, 39 polling stations across 6 districts have been marked as ‘critical’ due to their remote locations. Mamit district has the highest number of critical polling stations with 13, followed by Kolasib district along the Assam border (7) and Champhai district along the Myanmar border (4). Aizawl district, Saitual district, and Lawngtlai district each have 3 critical polling stations. These critical polling stations are mainly situated along international and interstate border areas.

State Chief Electoral Officer Madhup Vyas mentioned that district administrations with polling stations accessible only by foot have been directed to work with Public Works Department (PWD) officials to improve roads and make them accessible by vehicles before the polling date. They are expecting progress reports that will help reduce the number of polling stations inaccessible by vehicles.

“We are expecting to receive the progress reports that will decrease the number of polling stations being inaccessible by vehicles,” Vyas said.

The state legislative assembly election, featuring 40 members, is scheduled to take place on November 7, with vote counting on December 3.

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