No time for elections in upper Mustang

With most villages empty as the local population has migrated to warmer climes, authorities should have rethought poll timing, villagers say.

Tsering Gurung left his village in upper Mustang for Syangja a month ago. He makes this journey every year when the winter sets in. The next four months are crucial for Tsering who sells winter clothes on the streets of Syangja. The 32-year-old is currently in a fix, he says, and has been debating with himself for the past few days whether to return to his village to cast his vote in the upcoming general and provincial elections.