70 p.c polling in J-K border dists, fingers crossed

Such was the enthusiasm among the villagers that 120-year old Tahira Begum cast her vote at a polling booth in Tangdhar block of Kupwara district before noon. She was helped in the process by her grandchildren.

Similar reports were received from Rajouri and Poonch, where over 90 per cent polling was registered in a number of panchayat areas. Long queues of men and women were seen outside polling booths.

The blocks which went to polls today included Kalakote, Sunderbani and Nowshera (all in Rajouri district), Mendhar and Balakote (Poonch), besides Tangmarg, Teetwal and three panchayats in Karalpora block (all Kupwara district). However, of the total of 121 vacancies for sarpanches and 1,014 panches, villagers cast their vote for the election of only 105 sarpanches and 559 panches.

Sixteen sarpanches and 445 panches have already been elected unopposed in these seven blocks which went to polls today. Of these, quite a few are women.

However, there was no polling in four panchayats in Machail area of Kupwara district since there was no candidate in the fray. The notification for election in these panchayats will be reissued, election officials here said.

Kupwara’s Deputy Commisioner Haq Nawaz said a good number of people exercisedtheir franchise in the three blocks. “Tangdhar (79), Teetwal (74) and theinaccessible Keran (85) saw a reasonably good number of people turning outto cast their votes,” he said.

Apart from the police, there is a one permanent brigade each at Keranand Tangdhar. Owing to snowfall, the three blocks remain cut off from the rest of the country for almost six months. It is during times like this that the Army virtually takes over the reins of the administration.

Since the ’90s, Keran has seen two-thirds of its population migrate towardsPakistan-occupied Kashmir. A large number of people from Tangdhar and Teetwal have followed suit.

According to polling officials, the polling in Nowshera block was 87 per cent, in Sunderbani 85 per cent, in Kalakote 75 per cent, in Mendhar 68 per cent and in Balakote 65 per cent.

Though the elections have passed off peacefully despite militant threats during the first phase, there is no jubilation in official circles. The officials are keeping their fingers crossed for the second and third phase of polling scheduled to be held on January 17 and 19 in the rest of the blocks of these three border districts.

Polling in Manjakote, Darhal and Surankote blocks of Rajouri and Poonch districts will be an acid test for the administration in view of the concentration of militants in these areas, a senior police official said. During the last fortnight alone, they (militants) held hostage passengers of three buses and seven GREF workers. Though they released all of them unharmed later, the administration has banned movement of vehicles from Rajouri to Poonch and vice versa after 2 pm. Similarly, militants had attacked a BSF camp at Manjakote in Rajouri district yesterday, sources said.

The administration may be able to manage polling by deploying additional companies of paramilitary forces and state police in these areas. The real problem will arise after the polls. Who will protect the elected sarpanches and panches from militants after the withdrawal of the additional paramilitary forces and police personnel, a senior police official asked.

The Hurriyat Conference has described the conduct of the polls as aconspiracy by the Centre to shoot down the ongoing peace process. It hadcalled for boycott of the elections.

Three houses had been set ablaze in Pulwama earlier. Posters asking people not to file nominations were circulated in many parts of the Valley.Twenty-three of the 61 candidates withdrew their nominations in the threeblocks.