Budgam’s last village records high voter turnout

Budgam, May 13: Residents of the final village in central Kashmir’s Budgam district turned out in large numbers to cast their votes at the Ringzabal-Kharian village polling station in the Khansahib tehsil.
The voter turnout was exceptionally high, with first-time voters, women, and senior citizens participating actively. They enthusiastically exercised their democratic right, contributing to the electoral process for the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency.
Ringzabal-Kharian village, situated in the Khansahib assembly segment of Budgam district, stands out as one of the last villages where the engagement of women and first-time voters has remained consistently robust throughout the election period.
Tariq Ahmad Chohan, a voter from Ringzabal-Kharian village, emphasized the proactive involvement of their community in the election process, highlighting their aspirations for development and better representation.
“We are living in a tribal community where most of the people are living below the poverty line. It is not possible for our people to fulfill all the demands and needs of our families. We want to select our representative, who can solve the problems and issues of the young educated youths for our tribal community,” Chohan expressed.
He underscored the seasonal migration of villagers to highland pastures during the summer, emphasizing the need for improved facilities in seasonal schools to ensure quality education for children.
Mohammad Shareef, another voter, lamented the historical neglect faced by their tribal community by the government, despite consistent high voter turnouts in various elections.
He stressed the importance of proper infrastructure development, including road connectivity and footbridges, to address the pressing needs of their village.
“In Shamsabad area of Khan Sahab area, most of the villagers had divided their 200 votes among the two political parties, so that winning candidates can work for the progress and development of the village,” the report added. He said that the government should provide proper road connectivity from Ringzabal- Tosamaidan and should provide the foot -bridge upon the nallah Sukhnang which is one of the longest demands of the people from our village.
“Four years ago, the Jammu and Kashmir Government declared the Ringzabal-Kharian village as a tourism village. Due to the non availability of the proper facilities into the village the tourists did not prefer to visit our village. During this time, we want to choose our representative who can work for the welfare of the Jammu and Kashmir people. That is the reason the people are actively participating in the election process in our country.
Ali Mohammad Dar, a local, told Rising Kashmir that for two decades, although he was a strong supporter of PDP but this time, he decided to vote for NC due to divided vote share. We want development of our village, so that winning MP’s listen to our demands in future.
Similarly, Javid Ahmad emphasized the need for strategic voting to garner support from winning MPs for the village’s development.