Soura deserted on polling day, none steps out to vote

Rifat Mohidin
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, October 16

In the uptown Soura locality of Srinagar, the roads remained deserted on Tuesday and not a single resident came out to vote. The police had set up extra checkpoints in the area.

The 25 wards in Srinagar district witnessed only 4 per cent polling.

In the Soura ward, where more than 11,000 voters were registered for the fourth phase of the urban local bodies elections, residents admitted fear and disinterest in the poll process.

Srinagar, where 96 per cent people did not vote, and Ganderbal districts went to the polls in the last phase of the four-phase elections on Tuesday.

The civic polls were held amid tight security in the Valley. The boycott trend continued even on the last phase on Tuesday. Of the 2,42,122 voters in the city, only 9,678 cast their vote on Tuesday. The total percentage of voting in the two districts was 4.2 per cent.

Residents said the reasons for not voting was the fear that had engulfed the region following the militant warnings and the killing and abduction of policemen.

The candidates are also staying in hotels due to the militant threats and have not met voters.

“There is no point in voting. Who wants to put himself and his family at risk for a vote. In Kashmir, the situation has only worsened in the past few years and this election is an indication of that,” said Nazir Ahmad, 50, a shopkeeper in the Anchar locality of Soura, which saw a complete poll boycott.

Unlike other parts of the city, the interiors of the Dal Lake, known as the Bud Dal ward, the polling booths were overwhelmed as more than 2,000 residents voted. They said they voted for development.

“We want our day-to-day problems should be solved,” said a homemaker (50), who had covered her face as she did not want to be identified.

At a polling booth in the Habak area, CRPF men guarding the booth said they had seen only six voters this morning. “They had covered their faces and left after casting their vote,” said a CRPF man. He said no voters had come after them.

In Srinagar and Ganderbal, which saw 4.2 per cent voting, 296 polling booths were set up for 37 wards (25 in Srinagar and 12 in Ganderbal).