Soldiers posted at Siachen cast their votes

Army personnel posted at the world's highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, cast their votes as service voters on Thursday.

According to the Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia, the soldiers deployed in Siachen and the Line of Control (LoC) cast their votes as service voters on the first day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on Thursday.

"The Indian Army troops deployed in J&K fulfil their duty of being responsible citizens by participating in the democratic process. In a first-of-its-kind, the Election Commission of India provided the facility to the troops deployed in far flung, remote and inhospitable terrains to download their ballot papers online, vote and forward the ballot papers to their respective Electoral Returning Officers.

"Braving the severe weather conditions and undeterred by the ceasefire violations, the soldiers enthusiastically cast their votes for parliamentary elections, exhibiting the strength of the democratic process," Kalia said.

--IANS

sq/arm