‘We are happy’: 3 Uttarakhand forest villages to vote for 1st time since Independence; 1,300 Tongias added to voter list

In a historic move, over 1,300 residents from Rampur, Leti, and Chopra in Nainital district, Uttarakhand, are set to vote for the first time in panchayat elections after 77 years of Independence. This follows the Uttarakhand government's decision to grant revenue village status to these long-excluded Tongia communities. The policy change regularizes forest villages, bringing them into the administrative framework.