Kashmir Valley snubs urban body polls; records 8.3% turnout amid heavy security
Just 8.3% of the electorate voted in the first-phase of the urban local body polls in militancy-wracked Kashmir Valley, while Kargil recorded the highest turnout of 78%, an official said on Monday.
Polling in 83 wards of the Valley began at 7 am and ended at 4 pm amid tight security. “Only 7,057 voters of the 84,692 eligible persons turned up to vote in the wards which went to polls on Monday. The polling was by and large peaceful,” the official said.
The polls to urban local bodies in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in four phases with the first completed on Monday.
Heavy polling was witnessed in Kargil and Leh, which recorded turnouts of 78% and 52% respectively, the official said.
In north Kashmir, the Kupwara Municipal Committee
SRINAGAR:
recorded a high voter turnout of 36.6%, while 27.8% of the electorate exercised their franchise at wards of the Handwara Municipal Committee.
Out of the 30,074 voters in three wards of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, 1,862 turned up at heavily-fortified polling stations.
Budgam recorded a turnout of 17% while it was just 7.3% in Anantnag. Baramulla recorded a turnout of 5.7% and Bandipora the lowest at 3.3%, the official said.
Polling was held for only 83 wards in the Valley on Monday as 69 were won uncontested.
Of the 150 polling stations in the Kashmir division, 138 polling stations were categorised as hypersensitive.