Farm road connectivity in three of the five chiwogs in Lauri Gewog, Samdrup Jongkhar has helped villagers to attend common forum of the dzongkhag’s National Council (NC) candidates.
Today, more than 300 registered voters showed up at the common forum, which was held at Lauri Gewog Centre. During the 2013 parliamentary election, the attendance was very less since villagers had to walk for hours to attend forums.
But now, it’s a matter of few minutes.
“Now that our chiwog is connected with a road, we don’t face problem in attending such important forums. We can decide wisely as to whom we should vote. Earlier, we voted blindly,” told one of the villagers, Sangay Drakpa to BBS News.
Others also felt attending common forum has made them clear on which candidates to vote for.
“At this forum, I came to know that Samdrup Jongkhar has six candidates. Listening to each of their words, I could judge a bit on which candidate is vocal and promising,” said another villager, Tshewang Bumpa.
The election officials on duty are also happy that unlike previous elections, they don’t have to endure hardship to conduct electoral process in Lauri this time. In 2013, they trekked for almost one day to reach Lauri Gewog Centre from Menjiwoong- the nearest road point.
The common forum of Samdrup Jongkhar NC candidates ends on April 9. The district has around 25,000 registered voters.
