Polling of votes begins in Indian-controlled Kashmir

NEW DELHI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Polling of votes began in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, confirmed a local government official to Xinhua over the phone.

Voting will continue till 6:00 p.m. local time in as many as 24 Assembly constituencies during the first phase. There were a total of 90 Assembly constituencies in the area, he added.

People holding voter identity cards were seen standing in long queues waiting for their turn to cast a vote.

Assembly elections were being held in the area after a gap of ten years.

Quoting official figures, an online media report by Hindustan Times said that over 2.3 million electors were eligible to cast votes across seven districts. Out of the 24 Assembly constituencies going to vote on Wednesday, eight were in three districts of the Jammu region, namely Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar, and 16 in four districts of Kashmir, namely Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam.