Gorkha, December 8
As 45 districts of the country were concluding voting on Thursday afternoon, poll officials in Gorkha were preparing to open ballot boxes to begin the counting.
Chief Election Officer of the district, Basanta Raj Paudel, was busy making preparations as he was called from his hometown in Pokhara to inform that his 95-year-old mother, Hima Devi, passed away.
The news of course shocked Paudel, but he was not in the position to quit everything and rush to home as he was responsible to ensure smooth counting of votes.
That is why he decided to stay in Gorkha till everything would be set up.
“The grief from my mom’s death was too painful,” he told Onlinekhabar, “But, I also had a responsibility for my country. And, now, I did that.”
Paudel has left for Pokhara on Friday morning, handing over the responsibility to Election Officer Ritendra Thapa.
