Residents of Bandipora village boycotted poll

A village in the Sonawari assembly segment of Bandipora boycotted the polls held on Tuesday as they “feel dissociated with the system”, with only one of the more than 500 eligible voters casting the ballot, officials said.

The Sonawari segment was one of the 16 constituencies in three border districts — Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara — which went to polls on Tuesday.

Feel dissociated

The residents of the Kanyari village feel dissociated with the system. We explained to them the importance of democratic process but, unfortunately, they refused to give in. —Manzoor Ahmad Qadri, DEO

“The residents of the Kanyari village feel dissociated with the system. They do not feel like being part of it. That’s why they stayed away from polling,” District Election Officer Manzoor Ahmad Qadri said.

Qadri said he tried to persuade the residents to participate in the electoral exercise but in vain. “We explained to them the importance of democratic process but, unfortunately, they refused to give in,” he added.

Qadri said only one out of 514 voters exercised their franchise in the polls held on Tuesday.

Officials said the residents of Kanyari village had sought land from the government for construction of houses at a safer place after the 2014 floods had ravaged their homes. The demand has not been fulfilled even after 10 years, the villagers said.