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Polling booth for least voters and one at highest altitude, Leh has it all
Leh: A polling booth for the least number of voters and one at the highest altitude, Leh has it all among the 11,316 polling stations set up for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
The polling station for casting votes for the least number of voters – only 12 – has been set up at Gaik village under Leh assembly segment of Ladakh parliamentary constituency, Leh District Electoral Officer Anvy Lavasa old PTI.
“Gaik polling station (number 38) has the lowest voters, only 12,” she said.
The voters at Gaik village include only five males and seven females, she added.
Similarly the district also has a polling station at the highest altitude in the country at 14,890 ft above the sea level, she said, adding this polling station with the unique distinction has been set up at a place called Anlay Pho.
She said the two are among the 294 polling stations set up in Leh assembly segment.
A total of 11,316 polling stations have been set up in the state for 78,42,979 voters to exercise their rights of franchise in the multi-phase parliamentary polls in Jammu and Kashmir starting April 11 to choose six MPs.
Out of the six parliamentary constituencies, the Ladakh constituency also has the distinction of having the least number of polling stations, only 559, for the lowest voters numbering 1,71,819.
Leh and Kargil districts, forming parts of Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency, have 294 and 265 polling stations respectively.
As per the official figures, most of the polling stations have been set up at an altitude of 8,001 to 13,000 feet with the maximum number of high-altitude stations, numbering 183, located in Leh assembly segment, followed by 158 in Kargil segment.
Over 190 polling stations have been set up at altitudes between 7,001 to 8,000 feet.
Many parts of Kashmir received fresh light snowfall on Saturday, leading to an increase in the minimum temperature which brought some relief to the people from the intense cold conditions, the meteorological department said.
A MeT official said the weather would remain generally cloudy in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh Union territories on Saturday with chances of light rain or snow.
“Light snowfall of two to five inches occurred at many places of Kashmir, hilly areas of Jammu and on the higher reaches of Ladakh,” he said.
The official said the weather would remain generally cloudy in both the Union territories on Saturday.
“A spell of widespread light to moderate snowfall is likely to occur during January 6 to 7 evening,” he said.
The official said the fresh snowfall brought some relief to the residents in the Valley from the intense cold conditions as the night temperature showed improvement.
Srinagar city recorded a low of minus 0.1 degree Celsius Friday night over three degrees up from minus 3.7 degrees Celsius the previous night.
The official said the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 6.5 degrees Celsius two degrees up from the previous night.
The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 2.5 degrees Celsius over seven degrees up from minus 10.0 degrees Celsius Thursday night, he said.
The official said Qazigund the gateway town to the valley – in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.6 degree Celsius up over six degrees from the previous night’s minus 7.0 degrees Celsius.
Kokernag town, also in south, recorded a low of minus 2.1 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara, in north, registered the minimum temperature at 0.8 degree Celsius, the official said.
The mercury in Leh in Ladakh settled at a low of minus 18.3 degrees Celsius, he said.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ – the 40-day harshest period of winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum and minimum temperatures drop considerably.
‘Chillai-Kalan’ began on December 21 and it will end on January 31. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).
Suspected militants hurled a grenade at Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Kawdara locality in Srinagar on Saturday, resulting in damage to several vehicles, police said.
However, there was no immediate report of any casualty or injury, they said.
A grenade was hurled by militants to target the CRPF personnel posted in Kawdara locality of the interior area of the city in the afternoon, police said.
The area was cordoned off immediately after the explosion and further details are awaited.
Real Kashmir downed the reigning champion Chennai City FC 2-1 at the TRC Turf Ground on Thursday. The match was the first big sporting event in the valley since it became a union territory.
Danish Farooq Bhat opened the scoring for Real Kashmir in the 22nd minute before Bazie Armand doubled the lead lie minutes later.
Syed Suhail Pasha’s second half goal halved the deficit for Chennai City but Real Kashmir held on to its lead for its first win of the season. The three points lifted the home side above the visitor into seventh place.
Chennai City hasn’t made a convincing defence of its crown having picked up just five points in as many games.
There were security concerns in the lead up to the game due to the abrogation of Article 370 and the ensuing lockdown in the valley.
The match wasn’t telecast on the official broadcaster DSport. “Due to the ongoing internet connectivity issues in the Kashmir region, today’s match between @ChennaiCityFC & @realkashmirfc will not be telecasted on DSPORT,” DSport posted on its official Twitter page.