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| Srinagar-Budgam set to go for polls today | | | Bashir Assad
Srinagar, Apr 29 : Prestigious Srinagar-Budgam Constituency is all set to go for polls tomorrow as the authorities have made all necessary arrangements for the smooth conduct of elections.
Police and other security agencies have been deployed in strength in and outside the polling stations and the polling staff was dispatched to their respective polling stations along with the polling material including electronic voting machines since early morning on Tuesday under tight security.
The Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency comprised of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam districts is scheduled to go for polling on April 30. Srinagar Lok Sabha seat is comprised of 1106729 electors and 1546 polling stations have been set up in the constituency. Srinagar tops the electoral population with 591977 voters followed by Budgam with 428799 voters and Ganderbal with 150976. Srinagar district with eight Assembly segment has 804 polling stations, 551 of whom were hyper sensitive, 238 sensitive and 15 normal while Budgam district with five Assembly constituencies has 540 polling stations including 324 hyper sensitive, 176 sensitive and 40 normal. Ganderbal district with just two Assembly segments has 202 polling stations including 146 hyper sensitive and 56 sensitive. No polling station in Ganderbal district has been rated as normal.
Meanwhile Police and security forces have been kept on high alert to meet any eventuality. Police has raised barricades on all important road junctions and frisking of vehicles especially two wheelers has been intensified all across the city and its outskirts. Police has detained more than 500 youngesters on the charges of stone pelting and disrupting the electoral process in Kashmir. Many separatist leaders have also been taken into preventive custody and PSA has also been slapped on a couple of seperatists leaders including the spokesperson of Geelani led Hurriyat Conference, Ayaz Akbar. Police said the crackdown took place in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar and throughout the constituency that votes on Wednesday as part of the country's continuing staggered six-week general election.
"To ensure peaceful and violence-free polling in Central Kashmir, police have been taking preventive measures and arrested around 400 stone pelters and trouble mongers," a police statement said.
"Nobody will be allowed to disrupt the electoral process. The arrests have been made and will continue to be effected to instill confidence among the voters." In addition, police targeted some 130 residents who they suspected would lead protests on Wednesday against the polls, arresting them in raids on their homes, a senior officer said on condition of anonymity. "About 130 people were arrested since Monday in Srinagar," the officer said.
Official data released by the Election Commission revealed that a total of 12.31 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their right to franchise in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, which is spread over 15 Assembly segments and three districts. The voters included 6.28 lakh males and 5.72 lakh females apart from 30054 migrant and 256 Service voters. Sources said that 324 polling stations in Budgam district have been declared as critical. Of total 1546 polling stations, the Election Commission has declared 1021 as hyper sensitive, 470 as sensitive and 55 as normal.
Meanwhile attendance in government offices on Tuesday was thin and traffic went off the roads in the afternoon today. At many places including Rangreth on old airport road and some areas in old city protesters pelted stones on police and security personnel guarding the polling stations. Shops and other business establishments in the commercial hub Lal Chowk in Srinagar city were shut early today. |
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