Tasaduq Hussain
Kupwara, Nov 25: The inhabitants of Machil sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district who have moved to district headquarters in the wake of recent cross LoC shelling Wednesday demanded a separate polling booth in Kalaroos area of Kupwara so that they too can exercise their franchise in the upcoming District Development Council (DDC) polls.
Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the migrants who migrated Machil sector close to the fence for want of internet, safety, medical checkups, studies and other purposes Wednesday demanded a separate polling booth at Kalaroos to exercise franchise without any inconvenience.
The residents said that a handsome population in recent days has moved to district headquarters that include, students, elderly, ailing patients and others also those who live close to the fence due to the recent intense shelling.
They said that Machil sector has received nearly four feet snow and the road particularly at Z-Gali won’t be safe for the travel and may possibly cause some damage also the inclement weather hasn’t improved which makes it near impossible for all those migrated, to return to Machil to cast the vote.
The students preparing for different examinations also stated that the area entirely has no mobile internet connectivity and students have migrated to take tuitions and prepare for different competitive exams with the availability of internet connectivity.
Elderly residents told KNO that many pregnant ladies have been already shifted out from the sector to ensure they get medical attention well on time. “Also the people who require regular checkups have also been shifted,” said an elderly Abdur Razak Khan. “The migrants also include those who left the sector to have a sense of security only to avoid the cross LoC shelling that created a war like atmosphere in the area.”
The residents appealed to the LG Manoj Sinha and State Election Commissioner (SEC) of J&K to set up a separate polling for them at Kalaroos for Machil residents so that they too can cast their votes—(KNO)
