Under the shadow of gun Rajouri-Poonch gear up for polling

Contingency plan put in place for LoC villages as Anantnag goes to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha electionsThe administration has made adequate security arrangements and has put up contingency plan in place as two border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, south of Pir Panjal, brace for polling on May 25.The two districts are part of the Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency that would go to polling on May 25 under fifth phase of the general elections.The region has witnessed a spike in terror attacks in recent times.

“Adequate security arrangements have been made and in case there is shelling from across the border, a contingency plan has also been put in place,” said district commissioner of Poonch Yasin Mohammad Choudhary.

“For the purpose, we have mapped community bunkers in villages that are located on the Line of Control. Though no voting can be held in the bunkers, at the time of contingency (brief shelling or firing) the polling staff and the voters can be shifted there for safety,” he added.Choudhary also informed that in case of protracted shelling, the administration has also identified alternate polling stations in buildings located in safe zones (out of the range of enemy shelling) to enable the voters to cast their votes.

“Adhering to the guidelines of the election commission, it has been a thumb-rule practice to have a contingency plan in border districts,” said the DC.

“The purpose of identifying community bunkers near polling stations is to enable the polling staff, security personnel and voters to take refuge in the event of cross border shelling,” Choudhary said.

The administration has also made arrangements of bunker vehicles, he informed.

Poonch district with three assembly segments of Mendhar, Haveli and Surankote have a total of 474 polling stations.Out of 474 polling stations, more than 50 have been set up within 5 km radius of the LoC, 24 within 2 km radius and 12 have been set up beyond the border fence.

It may be stated here that as part of border grid, called anti-infiltration obstacle system (AIOS), the army has put up a fence and in the process some Indian villages have been fenced out because of the hilly topography.

Similar arangements have also been initiated in the Rajouri district.

“At least 278 polling booths in Rajouri and 170 in Poonch have been put under critical category. Accordingly, we have made the arrangements deploying adequate security and putting in place a contingency plan,” said a senior police official, who declined to be named.

“Security forces that include police, army and paramilitary forces have intensified their patrolling and search operations have also been upped to pre-empt any possible terror strike,” he added

The region, it may be stated here, witnessed a spurt in terror attacks, orchestrated by Pakistan and carried out by terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

On May 4, an IAF soldier was killed and four others were injured, one of them critically, after armed terrorists ambushed a convoy at Sanai Top near in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district .

On May 6, military intelligence released sketches of two Pakistani terrorists with a reward of ₹20 lakhs to the informers leading to their arrest.

On April 22, a government employee Mohammad Razak, 40, son of Mohammad Akbar, a resident of Kunda Tope in Shahdara Sharief of Rajouri was killed by two armed terrorists around 8.55 pm while his brother, a jawan in Territorial Army, had escaped from the spot.On April 28, a village defence guard Mohammad Sharief was killed in a brief face off between a police party and a group of terrorists in the upper reaches of Chochru Gala heights in Basantgarh area of Udhampur district

Last year in January, at least seven Hindus were massacred by armed terrorists in Dhangri village of Rajouri.