Uttarakhand: CEC Rajeev Kumar treks 18 km to visit remote polling stations

Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar on Friday trekked for 18 kilometers to the remote polling booths of Uttarakhand to assess the challenges faced by polling parties in hilly areas.

Kumar reached Dumak and Kalgoth village, the most remote polling booths of Uttarakhand located in Chamoli district.

Speaking to ANI, the Chief Election Commissioner said that the polling parties have to walk for days to reach far-off areas.

"Polling parties have to walk three days to reach here. I wanted to visit here to understand the challenges faced by the polling personnel during elections," he said.

Further, Kumar said that he would be visiting more such remote polling booths to understand the requirements.

"I will be visiting several remote polling booths starting from here and try to fulfill the requirements of voters in these areas," he said.

The Dumak and Kalgoth polling stations are a part of the Badrinath Assembly constituency.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami won the Champawat bypoll by a margin of over 55,000 votes.

This was a much-needed victory for Dhami to remain Chief Minister of the state after he lost the state Assembly polls held earlier this year despite the BJP's landslide victory.