Srinagar: A shutdown is being observed in Kashmir on Saturday, marking the polling for the first of the nine-phased panchayati elections in the Valley.
Shops and other business establishments are closed while movement of the traffic, both public and private, is thin on the roads.
The call for the strike has been given by Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) against the panchayat polls.
The JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik urged people to observe shutdown against “yet another election drama” being enacted by the “oppressive regime” of New Delhi. There are restrictions imposed in parts of Srinagar mainly in downtown areas in and around historic Jamia masjid.
The poling is scheduled at 3296 polling stations across the state, including 1303 in Kashmir and 1993 in Jammu Division.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, Shaleen Kabra, 5585 candidates are in the fray for 420 Sarpanch and 1845 Panch seats in Phase-I. 85 Sarpanchs and 1676 Panchs have already been elected unopposed in Phase-I.
687 polling stations have been categorized as hypersensitive including 491 in Kashmir and 196 in Jammu Division.
In the areas going to polls in the Phase-I, 445059 electors are eligible for voting for Sarpanch seats and 272792 for Panch constituencies.
