Clashes broke out between forces and angry protesters in bandipora area of North kashmirExpress Photo by Shuaib Masoodi 08-10-2018
It is 11.30 am. The shops are shut and gun-wielding police and paramilitary personnel are out on the streets. People are occasionally walking into polling station at Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Handwara town. But by now, 129 votes out of 445 have been polled. By the end of polling time, Kupwara district recorded highest voter turnout in the Valley at 32.3 per cent.
While the media was given an easy access across the Valley, it was barred from covering the polling in Handwara and Kupwara, with the officials citing “security of voters”.
The Kupwara district of north Kashmir, a stronghold of BJP ally Peoples Conference led by Sajad Lone, has two municipal committees — Handwara and Kupwara. Eighteen wards went to polls on Monday and 18 polling stations were set up in the two towns. Forty-seven candidates were in the fray here.
At the Handwara polling station, a 47-year-old woman said: “I am here because the candidate is known to me. He has promised that he will solve the local problems in the area.”
On Monday, several barricades were set up by the police to prevent media from entering into Handwara district.Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, Khalid Jehangir, said they decided not to allow media to enter into the district as there was a threat to the voters. Later, following intervention by senior J&K government officials, media was allowed to enter the town.
In nearby Kupwara town, permission was not given to media to enter into poll stations.