Voters want basic facilities in their areas
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Dec 10: Despite cold, large number of people today voted in fifth phase of DDC polls in Kashmir while at places voters stayed out with Valley recording 33.57 percent voting.
Kashmir recorded 33.57 per cent voter turnout with Bandipora district recording the highest polling at 56.40 per cent followed by Kupwara district at 52.35 per cent and Budgam with around 45.65 per cent polling.
Ganderbal recorded 37.47 per cent, Baramulla 44.31 per cent, Anantnag 21.89 per cent, Kulgam 26.94 per cent, Pulwama 8.12 per cent and 5.52 per cent polling was registered in Shopian district of South Kashmir.
The voting was held under tight security with police and para-military CRPF guarding 1190 polling Stations across Kashmir. Army provided area domination to prevent the militants from disrupting the polls. Click here to watch video
Barring a few incidents of stone pelting at Anantnag, the overall polling remained peaceful. Police said that miscreants tried to disrupt the polling in Anantnag. “Miscreants started pelted stones at Police. An FIR has been registered under Sections 103, 306, and 307 against miscreants,” police said said.
In Anantnag, Fayaz Lolu of ETV Bharat, Mudasir Qadri, stringer with News 18 Urdu and Junaid Rafiq of TV 9 alleged that they were beaten by Police while covering the DDC elections in Srigufwara area.
They accused that their equipment was seized by police. They said that when the SSP Anantnag arrived on the spot that they were beaten and taken to the nearest police post.
An SOG man who was on election duty in Tujjar village of Sopore was critically injured when his service rifle went off accidentally. The injured cop, Mohammad Ashraf of SOG Wadora camp, was immediately rushed to nearby hospital for treatment.
In Bandipora district where highest voter turnout was recorded in Kashmir valley, a 105-year-old woman exercised her franchise at Arin block of the district.
Saja Begum’s son, Ayaz Lone, carried her to the polling station at Arin to cast ballot. “My mother told us in the morning that she will cast her vote for the benefit of her family members and people in general”, Lone said.
Saja Begum said that she has always voted and didn’t want to miss her chance even today. “We have hundreds of educated youth and their parents have spent a lot of money for their education but they have no jobs. I came here to cast my vote so that they are benefitted”, she said.
She said: “We lack basic facilities in our area. Development is nothing, power supply is not being provided. We want these issues are addressed.”
In Kudara villagers in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district people queued up in large numbers to cast their vote.
A 55-year-old Shams-ud-Din Gojjar walked more than a kilometre on foot through snow to reach the polling station at Government High School Kudara early morning to cast his vote. “I came to vote to see development, particularly mobile network connectivity in our area as the village has no mobile connectivity”, he said.
The village is 17 kilometres from district headquarters and lacks basic facilities like better roads, water supply and health care facility.
“We always fulfil our duties by casting our votes during every election. However, we don’t get anything in return,” said Noor Jahan, Deputy Sarpanch of Kudara village.
She said that she voted with the hope that this long pending demand of the villagers are fulfilled.
In village Trehgam in district Kupwara a physically challenged person cast his vote at a Polling Station with the hope that his area sees development.
The physically challenged, Firdous Gani Malik, told Excelsior: “I have just cast my vote. Though nothing has been done for us so far, we are still hopeful that our voice will reach somewhere. They have never heard our voices, but the hope is there.”
An 85 year old Sanaullah Wani was helped his son to reach polling station in Lidderwan in district Kupwara.
“We want development; we want to elect the suitable candidates who will then represent us in the DDC and that is really going to be a great change for us. We are hopeful that this institution will be created in a democratic way and will serve the people”, he said. Fayaz Ahmad who exercised his franchise at Rajwar, Handwara in district Kupwara today told Excelsior: “We have always cast out votes for the resolution of issues like water, electricity and roads. The area we live in there are issues of water and roads and we are hopeful that a candidate who will be elected will work for the resolution of these issues and that’s what we want.”
Abdul Hamid, who also voted at Rajwar Polling Station in Handwara in Kupwara district said: “We hope that the votes are cast against the people who abrogated Articles 370 and 35-A. There is a need for teaching them a lesson and that what these people who are coming out in huge numbers must be doing”.
A candidate of Awami Ithad Party, Firdous Ahmad of Qadirabad, Awoora in Ganderbal told Excelsior that they want that people’s response to these elections should be overwhelming.
“We want the political process should gain ground in Kashmir and the people should participate more and more in such processes that are meant for their betterment. People participated in our rallies and that indicates that people are interested in the political process. We are for the development, we are the voice of the people and we are hopeful that it is going to be a success for us”, he said.
An independent candidate, Nazir Ahmad Najar, from Ganderbal said that those who are seeking votes on Article 370 and 35A are befooling the people as these elections are for local area development.
“It was a good decision to conduct these elections. These elections are totally different from other elections, these elections are for the development of the villages and people know that the local candidates are contesting in these elections and that’s why they are coming out in good numbers. Those who are saying that they will get 370 and 35-A and are trying to get the votes on that are actually befooling people; these elections have got nothing to do with that”, he said.
A first time voter, Wasim Ahmad, who was waiting in a queue outside a Polling Station in Ganderbal said that youth are aware and they don’t want to repeat what was done in the past.
“Youth are aware now and they don’t want to repeat what has been done to them in the past. They know who made promises and did nothing and at the same time, they are also aware that people were left out of development and progress. We have voted for new faces and we are sure that they will address all our issues”, he added.
Muhammad Altaf Lone; Qadirabad, Muqam in Ganderbal said that he is voting for peace and development. “We have a local candidate who is contesting elections here and we will make sure that he wins and projects the issues faced by this area at some bigger platform for immediate resolution. We have seen nothing so far, but we are sure that these elections will bring about some change”, he said.
In South Kashmir districts of Pulwama and Shopian, majority of the people stayed out of polls.
The people in general said here that development and welfare slogans of parties and candidates remains only up to elections and once they come to power they forget them.
Reyaz Ahmad, a resident of Pulwama, said they voted National Conference (NC) for autonomy but when they came to power, they changed their stand and never talked about autonomy. “Then we voted in favour of PDP for self-rule and to get BJP out of power but the same party brought BJP here and helped them to implement their agenda here and never talked about self-rule”, he said asking “why should we vote”?
Irfan Ahmad, resident of Shopian accused regional parties NC and PDP of being in hand in glove with the Centre on abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. “It is the regional parties especially NC and PDP who have indirectly helped BJP to scrap the special status of J&K,”
Admn helping BJP: PAGD
The neutrality of authorities in the District Development Council elections in Jammu and Kashmir has come under sharp criticism today from the PAGD leaders, who alleged that the administration was helping the BJP.
The accusations stemmed from several incidents late on Wednesday and on Thursday — including the reported beating up of three journalists in south Kashmir while covering the polls, detention of a Congress leader’s relative in Uri and a cordon-and-search operation by the Army in Shopian, allegedly to stop people from voting.
The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is an alliance of several mainstream political parties, including National Conference, the PDP, People’s Conference and the CPI(M), which are contesting the DDC polls together in order to keep the BJP and its allies out.
NC vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the keepers of the law were more than happy to become lawbreakers “if it serves their interest of cosying up to the BJP & it’s offshoots in Kashmir”.
“The entire machinery of the administration has taken upon itself the responsibility of helping the BJP in the DDC polls,” Abdullah tweeted.
NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said his party leaders were being prevented from campaigning for the DDC polls over the past few weeks in the name of security.
“Our public meeting scheduled for today (Thursday) at Behibagh in Kulgam district was to be addressed by party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani but it was not permitted in the name of security,” Dar said.
PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was prevented from leaving her house on the previous two days, alleged that armed forces were being used to rig the elections.
“Security forces have cordoned Matribugh in Shopian and are not allowing people to come out to vote under the pretext of inputs about presence of militants,” Mufti tweeted.
“In a brazen display of power, armed forces are being used to rig this election and favour a particular party,” she said, tagging the Election Commission and the Indian Army.
Mufti also lashed out at the authorities in south Kashmir over the alleged thrashing of three journalists by police while they were covering the elections.
“Three journalists thrashed by security forces in South Kashmir today after interviewing a PAGD candidate who wasn’t allowed to cast his vote,” she said. “Everything and anything that involves stating the truth is being criminalised in J&K.”
People’s Conference president Sajad Lone urged State Election Commissioner K K Sharma to investigate the case of alleged money distribution by a relative of a candidate in Uri.
According to reports, a close relative of a Congress leader was detained by police on Wednesday evening while he was on his way to a village in Uri.
“Please investigate the case of money distribution in Uri. The report sent by police to the DC (Deputy Commissioner) almost exonerates the accused,” Lone tweeted.
He said it was the moral duty of Sharma to ascertain the facts, adding that the police should explain why the accused was questioned and being let off now.
Earlier, Lone had tweeted late on Wednesday night about the “attempts to hush up a case involving distribution of money in Parenpeela Uri DDC constituency”.
“The LG has a moral duty to ascertain who all are behind attempts to hush up the case,” Lone, who is also a PAGD spokesperson, had said.
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