No vote cast in 90 booths in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat
Srinagar, Apr 18: As many as 90 polling booths, mostly in downtown city, saw no voting in Thursday's elections to the Srinagar Parliamentary seat, sources said.
The Srinagar constituency comprising eight assembly segments recorded zero turnout in as many as 50 polling booths.
The majority of these booths were located in Eidgah, Khanyar, Habba Kadal and Batmaloo, sources said.
Barring the Sonawar assembly segment, where former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar cast their votes, all other seven assembly seats recorded a single digit voting percentage with Eidgah at 3.3 per cent by the end of the polling.
Sonawar recorded 12 per cent polling.
In the neighbouring Ganderbal district, which is a part of the Srinagar parliamentary seat, as many as 27 polling booths recorded no votes at the end of the polling.
The same was the case with 13 booths of Budgam, which witnessed large scale violence in 2017 by-elections to the Lok Sabha seat.
In Budgam area, Chadoora saw the lowest turnout at 9.2 per cent among the five assembly segments, while Chrar-e-Sharief recorded the highest at 31.1 per cent.
The Srinagar constituency has 12,95,304 registered voters and 1,716 polling stations.
The National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, who is the sitting MP from this constituency, is seeking reelection.
The PDP has fielded Aga Syed Mohsin, while Khalid Jahangir from the BJP and Peoples Conference's Irfan Ansari are also in the fray.
The Congress, which is an ally of NC, has stayed away from contesting Srinagar.
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Min. Priyank Kharge to expresses concern over implementation of VB-G Ram G
Bengaluru: Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Priyank Kharge has expressed concern over the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the proposed VB-G Ram G scheme, stating that the MNREGA programme, which has been a lifeline for rural India for nearly two decades, appears to be facing an uncertain future.
Speaking to media, Kharge said that as March 31 draws to a close, there is no clarity on the rollout of the new scheme from April 1. He pointed out that the central government has not yet issued the necessary guidelines for implementing the scheme for rural workers and villages.
He criticised the Centre for its lack of preparedness, stating that there is no clarity on fund allocation, no final parameters for classifying gram panchayats, and key processes such as social audits have not been defined.
Kharge said the situation comes at a critical time, as summer marks a peak period for rural employment demand, when many people depend heavily on wage employment for their livelihood.
He added that reports have emerged of delays in approvals and families not receiving work despite demand.
He further alleged that the Centre’s move to shift from a statutory employment guarantee to a rule-based allocation system is already showing negative consequences.
Kharge also raised concerns over provisions such as a mandatory 60-day halt during agricultural seasons, which he said would further limit employment opportunities for rural workers.
The BJP-led central government had claimed that the new scheme would transform rural India, but in reality it is turning out to be detrimental to people’s livelihoods, he said.
“The crisis in rural India due to the stalling of MNREGA is beginning to unfold. Given the Centre’s past record in handling such situations, there is growing concern over the impact on rural livelihoods,” Kharge said.
