By Dabirah Hassan and Majid Nabi
Srinagar- Amidst the buzz of elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the air was thick with voices eager for change. As women lined up at polling stations, they pressed concerns about ‘skyrocketing’ electricity bills and the escalating drug crisis in Kashmir.
An elderly woman, waiting for her turn to vote at a polling station in the heart of Srinagar city on Wednesday told a visiting foreign diplomat that she is concerned about the erratic electricity supply and the rising bill amounts.
“The electricity supply has been destroyed and tariff meters have been installed. Now they say water consumption will also be metered,” the woman in her late 60s told the US Deputy Chief of Mission in Delhi, Jorgan K Andrews.
While the woman refused to identify herself, she said she spoke her heart out hoping that the diplomat’s intervention will bring some relief to poor people from the rising electricity bill amounts.
Unaware that foreign diplomats were invited here only to witness the Assembly poll process, the woman said she is hopeful that the “Angrez” will take up the matter with the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mehmooda, a septuagenarian from the old city’s Kawdara, said the new administration, which consists of local representatives, will pull the valley out of its political quagmire.
“The current administration continues to raise electricity bills while maintaining that installing smart power meters will reduce the tariff and provide customers with 24/7 access to electricity.” The ration per person was cut from fifteen kg to four kg. How could a poor individual survive in such a circumstance when the government is now preparing to install smart water meters? “ she questioned.
The perceptions and expectations differed from those of the old city as women voters turned out in large numbers to vote against drug abuse and sale of narcotics, claiming the practices have had a negative impact on youth.
Safdara, a 45-year-old woman from the Mehjoor Nagar section of the civil lines, stated that her younger son, a 12th grade student, had a serious drug addiction and that she was counting on the next government to completely eradicate the threat.
“A resilient mother finds herself without hope as her son gradually falls prey to a drug addiction. I believe the biggest threat to mothers in Kashmir may be drug abuse, besides other problems like rising costs, unemployment, and a lack of progress,” Safdara said.
Sahazada, a voter from the same locality, asserted that Mehjoor Nagar and the surrounding areas are rife with drug addiction and that this threat has damaged the reputation of the locality.
“Since our kids have become severely addicted to drugs, I genuinely support ending drug misuse in our community. In addition to dealing with a number of other problems, such as unemployment, the joblessness has caused our kids great anxiety. At the very least, I’m confident that new job programs would be implemented in Kashmir if a government is established,” she told Kashmir Observer.
First-time Voters Seek Better Education Opportunities
In several parts of the Srinagar city, excited first-time voters cast their ballots in the hopes that the next administration will support underprivileged students with welfare programs and scholarships.
While the boys voted out of mere excitement, girls—mostly students—voted for a dramatic finale to the decade-long suffocation that people in Kashmir endured without an elected government.
“We genuinely don’t support or oppose any political parties; all political parties, whether national or local, strive for development, peace, and prosperity. We wish to bridge the gap created by Kashmir’s severe development lag,” Mehreen, a first-timer, told Kashmir Observer.
While she waited for her turn to cast a ballot at a polling station in the Kani Mazar locality in Nawakadal, the optimistic Mehreen said the new administration will bring about a new phase of development in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We desire for our valley to be recognized as one of India’s developed states. We want our problems to be resolved democratically, just like the other states, since we too believe in democracy,” she added.
Besides advocating for growth and employment opportunities for educated young, Mehreen pushed for progress in other fields, including education.
“Actually, the only way we learn about educational initiatives is through the media, but I doubt that a financially disadvantaged student would have ever taken use of such advantages,” she claimed.
Janzeb and his sister Rufaida, accompanied by their parents, cast their votes at a polling site in the same locality, expressing hope that the upcoming government will do something novel that the outgoing one was unable to accomplish during the previous five years.
“We don’t come from wealthy backgrounds; therefore we don’t have a lot of resources. We hope the new government will lessen this load by implementing cutting-edge educational initiatives for the underprivileged students of the society,” Janzeb, a Bsc 1st year student said.
‘New Govt Will End Bureaucratic Hegemony’
Despite recording a comparatively low turnout than the other five other districts in the second phase of assembly elections on Wednesday, voters in Srinagar’s downtown cast ballots in favor of ‘statehood’ and the overall development of the city.
People in the downtown believe that maiden assembly elections following the abrogation of Article 370 would put an end to ‘bureaucratic hegemony’ and open the doors for the city to develop. Nonetheless, many electors chose not to participate in the electoral process this time around, citing the annulment of the special constitutional status of J&K.
Notably, compared to the Lok Sabha elections held in May this year, the old city recorded a lower turnout in the assembly elections on Wednesday.
“We are of the firm belief that the new administration, which consists of our elected members, will usher in a constructive change. To be very honest, we voted for statehood and development of the city rather than any specific party or candidate as we have done in the past,” Zahoor Ahmad, a voter from Eidgah Assembly segment, told Kashmir Observer.
While standing in a long queue at a polling station in Rathpora Eidgah, Zahoor, a retired government teacher, hoped that the regional political parties might have taken note of their past ‘transgressions’ and would no longer subject the people of Jammu and Kashmir to political hardship.
Zuhaib, a first-time voter, said that he was voting to regain the identity that Jammu and Kashmir had lost when it was reduced to a union territory. “This election felt more like a battle to me than a typical political process because our leaders in Kashmir have pledged to bring back the identity J&K lost in 2019. I support their pledge over that of any party or individual,” Zuhaib, a class 12 student,said.
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