J&K ULB polls: Safakadal, Chanapora wards record less than 10 votes each in third phase

Safakadal, a ward in the city's old town, and Chanapora, in the Civil Lines, polled less than 10 votes each in the third phase of the urban local body elections in which 20 municipal wards went to polls Saturday.

The polling, which began at 6 am and ended at 4 pm saw 11 Srinagar Municipal Corporation wards recording less than 100 votes, and at the end of the day only 2,827 of the over 1.53 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the polls that have been boycotted by mainstream political parties such as the National Conference and its arch rival the PDP.

Safakadal, which has a total electorate of 9,062, saw two voters turning out in the first hour of the polling and an addition of one more in the last hour taking the total number of votes polled to three.

There was minor incident of stone pelting in this area and police had to use mild force to disperse the unruly mob, officials said.

Chanapora, which has an electorate of 10,000, had polled only two votes till 1 pm with an addition of only six more votes to end with a tally of eight by the close of polling.

The posh Rajbagh area of the city saw only 19 voters turning up at the polling stations to register their choice of candidate while as nearby Ikhrajpora polled a much higher tally of 149 votes.

The historic Lal Chowk, which has an electoral strength 5,827, saw only 71 voters exercise their franchise during the day.

Daulatabad and Makhdoom Sahib in the old city, which fall in the Khanyar assembly segment represented by National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, saw a comparatively 'good' turnout.

Daulatabad registered 596 out of the total 8,431 eligible votes while Makhdoom Sahib -- which houses the revered shrine of Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom -- saw 550 of the 6,132 eligible votes getting cast.

As many as 36 voters turned out to cast their votes at Hyderpora ward, where hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani lives.