Srinagar: Helicopters hover above, while the streets are empty in Srinagar district, which is one among three districts in central Kashmir – the others being Ganderbal and Budgam – where voting took place today (September 25) in the assembly polls for J&K.>
In an era bygone, I recall that here there were closed shutters, tear gas shelling, rubber bullets, stone pelting and cordon-and-search operations; but this time it seems the anger of the people will take a democratic outlet rather than one of armed fighting.>
I also travelled through the Dal Lake’s snaky waterways to a floating booth far at an island known as Kand Mohalla. Only the shikar boats can reach this place, a small hamlet where 1,069 people were eligible to cast their vote.>
Meanwhile, a high-level delegation of senior diplomats from the following countries has travelled to Kashmir to witness the ongoing elections: the US, Mexico, Guyana, South Korea, Somalia, Panama, Singapore, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Tanzania, Rwanda, Algeria and the Philippines.>
The delegation visited polling stations in Ompora (Budgam), followed by stops at Amira Kadal and S.P. College in Chinar Bagh. At S.P. College, delegates had the chance to visit a special pink polling station managed entirely by women.>
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All photos by Shome Basu.>