Braving inclement weather, 73 pc turn out in Doda and Kishtwar

Ranjit Thakur
Doda, October 10

Voters defied the boycott call of separatists, braved inclement weather and turned up in large numbers in the civic body elections in Doda and Kishtwar on Wednesday.

In all, 72.77 per cent voters turned up in the second phase of elections in the three municipal committees of Doda, Thathri and Bhaderwah whereas the 13 wards of the communally sensitive Kishtwar town also recorded 72.77 per cent voter turnout with no untoward incident being reported from any part of the twin districts.

A first-time voter Menu Parihar said, “I am really excited after voting for my candidate. We have great expectations from him. It’s really nice to see a large number of women voters coming out of their homes to cast their vote. These are healthy signs for our democracy.”

Tabina Anjum, a young voter, said, “Women have participated in the elections in good numbers. Women are not behind in any field and should be treated equally.”

The voting started at 6 am in Doda, Bhaderwah, Thathri and Kishtwar under cold conditions and ended at 4 pm.

Prem Nath Thusoo, 95, and his 88 year-old wife Shanty Devi, voted in the Ward Number 2 of Doda town for a change and equitable development of the town.

Thusoo said, “Usually, we don’t go out due to our health problems but we came out today to cast vote for our candidate as we have great hope and expectations from him. We have problems of electricity, water and roads.”

Doda Deputy Commissioner Simrandeep Singh said, “We have received 72.77 per cent turnout in the three municipal committees. In all, 9,820 voters cast vote in which 5,088 were men and 4,732 were women.”

“Around 84 per cent votes were polled in Thathri, 69 per cent in Bhaderwah and 76 per cent in Doda town and the polling remained completely peaceful at all three places,” he added.

In Kishtwar, of the 9,125 voters, 6,641 voters cast their votes. Of these, 3,309 voters were men and 3,332 were women. The authorities have ensured tight security arrangements keeping in view the sensitive situation of the district.