Mand (Udhampur): Issues of development and employment for educated youth may have been among factors for the huge voter turn out today in Mand village, situated on the newly constructed four-lane Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Long queues of people could be seen outside several polling stations as people waited for their turn to caste their vote in the second phase of the ongoing assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
In Mand village men and women stood in different queues outside the polling station situated at the government high school, as they waited for their turn to exercise their franchise.
"As you see our village is situated on the national highway, but the only link road to our village is in shambles. The link road to our village which originates from the national highway is in dilapidated condition which has become a major problem for the residents here," said Shamsher Singh a voter.
He says that the previous governments have not done much for the area as all their genuine demands have been neglected.
The residents here allege that the village does not have a proper health care facility and they have to shift their patients to Udhampur for treatment.
"We don't have proper health care facility here, we have to take our patients to the district hospital in Udhampur and the transportation wastes lots of time. There are many areas which don't have road connectivity hence it becomes more difficult for the patient", said Manoj Kumar another resident of the area.
He said that in the past many patients have lost their lives when they were being transported to hospital in Udhampur.
The scene in the main Udhampur town is not different, as people in large number have gathered outside various polling stations in the town to caste their vote.
