‘It’s a sin to waste a vote’

Bijbehara, Sep 18: The people of the Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency in south Kashmir on Wednesday were seen actively participating in the voting activity since morning.

Unlike previous elections, the polling booths wore a festive look with decorations welcoming the voters – both males and females of all age groups.

From early morning until late afternoon, polling booths in Bijbehara and Srigufwara areas witnessed a heavy turnout of voters, eager to cast their ballot in favour of the candidates they want to choose.

The polling booth at Bijbehara saw a huge voter turnout and the brisk polling indicated a strong desire among the voters for a change in the present system.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, the voters said they were casting votes for a change as they were ignored in the present bureaucratic setup and had also faced discrimination in terms of development.

“We are voting to come out of bureaucratic rule and end the neglect our area has faced in the past,” said a young voter Jahangir Ahmad Dar, who was sitting outside a polling booth at Gadhanji Muhalla, Bijbehara.

He said that their participation in the voting process was driven by the hope that their area would witness development and prosperity on all fronts.

"We used to boycott elections but now we all have realised that it did not yield any positive results for us. We realise that people, particularly the youth, have to participate in elections if we need prosperity and development,” he said.

Like Jahangir, his other friends, who were sitting with him outside the polling booth shared the sentiment that their community had faced years of neglect.

The group of young boys cited many examples to justify their anger and disappointment.

“We do not have roads here. We do not have a proper drainage system. Our leaders in the past claimed they got funds for this constituency, but not a single penny was utilised in our locality,” said Ghulam Hassan Ganai, a young voter of Bijbehara constituency.

The youth of the area believe that their participation in this election would put an end to the discrimination their village faced in terms of development.

“This time we have pinned our hopes on the candidate we voted for. Our only demand is that funds should be utilised impartially without giving undue benefits to any area,” Ganai said.

He said that their village comprises 250 families, but not a single project was executed in their village during the previous years.

“This time we hope that this election will mark a turning point for our neglected village. This is the only reason we have participated in the election process. We are hopeful of a positive change,”

he said.

In Srigufwara, an elderly woman while coming out of a polling station said she cast her vote with the hope that the youth, particularly her own educated unemployed kids, would get jobs.

“To waste a vote is a sin. So, I thought of casting my vote. It will help all the educated youth to get jobs and bring avenues for them. I think every vote matters and we should not let it go to waste by staying away from voting. We should use our rights and be a part of the change,” she said.