E-Paper
Old City, new faith as Srinagar’s city centre draws out voters in droves for Lok Sabha polls
A modest turnout was also recorded even in the bastions of separatist leaders — especially in the Old City amid no call for boycott from separatist groups or militants
Polling stations in Srinagar, especially the urban areas, which witnessed abysmal polling in the past Lok Sabha elections, recorded good turnout as the seat went to polls on Monday. A modest turnout was also recorded even in the bastions of separatist leaders — especially in the Old City amid no call for boycott from separatist groups or militants.
Aijaz Ahmad, 48, said the people of Kashmir have realised that they were cheated in the name of “moral and other forms of support” over the past 70 years.
“Nothing is going to change in Kashmir. We were cheated all these years. We realised it when constitutional changes were brought to Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 and people were left behind to deal with the repercussions. I have lost many friends during the militancy and for what?,” he questioned, after casting his vote at Eidgah in the Old City for the first time.
Eight of the total 18 segments fall under the capital Srinagar. All of them upgraded to double-digit numbers from single-digit, with polling percentage ranging from 13% in HabbaKadal to 27.5% in Zadibal.
At Eidgah’s Ganderpora-B polling booth, 145 of the 860 people had cast their votes till 12.30 pm
Another first-time voter, Bilal Ahmad, 39, said there was no option for the people of Kashmir other than to vote this time. “People are not able to express themselves freely. Even if someone raises a hand to protest against lack of electricity or water, they are called to the police station. The vote is against ‘zulm’,” he said.
In the stone-pelting hub of Nawhatta near Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, 319 out of 816 votes were cast in one polling booth and 173 out of 846 in another polling booth set up in Motherland School till 1.20 pm.
Omar Sofi, 34, who works odd jobs, said he wanted change, “What has benefitted us from the boycott? If we talk, we are put into jail. Our youth are not safe. We have to put our own man in parliament to raise a voice. Not only me, I brought my whole family to vote.”
A woman in the separatist Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front stronghold of Maisuma said she had used the ballot papers on only one prior occasion, adding, “Now I am voting again because we want to bring change through votes and solve our problems.”
City outskirts at Mujgund also witnessed long queues of people waiting to vote.
M Waseem, 28, a post-graduate who teaches at a private school, said there was a vacuum between common people and administration in Kashmir.
“No officer listens. There are issues of employment, infrastructure and education. Besides, we are voting to convey that we are citizens of India and are not in favour of snatching our special status,” he said.
