Pandit women call for return of families
Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Sept 25: In the second phase of the Assembly elections in Kashmir, a majority of women voters cast their ballots for better roads, relief from the rising cost of essential goods and employment opportunities for their educated children.
Women across the 15 constituencies, spread in three Central Kashmir districts, expressed concern over skyrocketing prices, which were making it difficult to manage household budgets.
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“Inflation has worsened, and it is affecting our household budget. Every day, prices in the market rise. The smart meters installed a few months ago now have us paying Rs 2000-Rs 3000 in bills. The gas cylinder, which lasts only two months, keeps on rising,” a woman voter told the Excelsior at Pink Polling Station in Lal Chowk Assembly segment. Her Polling Station was one of the 26 Pink Polling Stations, designed and managed entirely by women, among the total 3,502 Polling Stations for the second phase.
At the Government Girls Higher Secondary Budgam polling station, Kashmiri Pandit women voted with the hope that the winning candidate would support the return of the Kashmiri Pandits.
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“Whoever is elected should work for our welfare-there should be electricity in our area, and roads should be properly built. Most importantly, they should work to bring the Kashmiri Pandits back home,” Bimla Koul, an elderly Pandit woman, told the Excelsior.
Her family is the only one remaining in the area, as all 20 Pandit families fled in the 1990s. She was accompanied by her daughter-in-law, who believes the situation has improved and now is an ideal time for their return. However, she also demanded relief in electricity tariffs, better drinking water availability, and jobs for their children.
The Pink Polling Stations, entirely staffed by women, including poll workers and security personnel, received additional support from Asha and Anganwadi workers, who helped guide female voters. At another Polling Station in Bemina area of Budgam, an elderly woman expressed her appreciation for the administration’s initiative of exclusive women-only Polling Stations, praising the patience and support of the female helpers. “She made sure I understood the process and felt comfortable throughout,” the voter recounted.
Explaining her reasons for voting, the woman stressed the need to ease daily struggles. “We need proper drainage, better roads, and jobs for our children. We are not getting enough rice for our family. My educated children are unemployed. Prices are too high,” she said.
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