Nearly two months after a government clampdown, India has decided to organize Block Development Council (BDC) elections in the troubled northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, according to the officials.
The councils are the second tier of local government under the Panchayati Raj system (local self-government).
The elections will be held for 4 hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (local time), on Oct. 24, said Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar.
They will be held in 310 of 316 blocks in the state, a week before Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, are declared union territories on Oct. 31.
“The scrutiny of nominations will be done on Oct. 10, the last date for withdrawal is Oct. 11,” he added.
In occupied Kashmir, normal life continues to remain badly affected in the Kashmir valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu region due to the snapping of mobile and internet connectivity and shutting of public transport as well as main markets on 56th consecutive day, today.
Though government offices and schools are open, they almost remain empty despite the efforts of the administration to make it look otherwise, as parents are reluctant to send their wards to educational institutions because of apprehensions about their safety.
Most of the interiors in Srinagar’s old city continue to remain sealed with iron barricades and concertina wire while deployment of police and paramilitary forces is intact in the city and all major towns and villages across the Kashmir valley.
