TURA, Feb-12 ?Polling in the three districts of Garo Hills is expected to cross the 60 per cent mark by the end of the day as early indications revealed. Voters turned out in large numbers in most places of the Garo Hills to elect 29 members of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC). But in Tura town voting began on a slow note with most polling stations recording low turnouts, which has been attributed to Wednesday night?s IED blast in the heart of the town.
A loud explosion ripped through the front portion of a restaurant in Tura Bazar injuring its manager and a helper. The explosion occurred shortly after 6 p.m. when the restaurant was jam-packed with customers. Some of the customers inside the restaurant also sustained minor injuries as the front portion glass window was ripped off by the explosion sending glass splinters all over the place.
It is not known who was behind the blast since there are two versions on how the incident occurred. Some eyewitnesses claim that they saw two scooter-borne youths lobbing something inside the restaurant before making a getaway, while others say that a man left behind a package which he promised to claim later but never turned up.
Although the blast could be heard for miles around, its destruction was not so much. Police say that it was an improvised explosive device (IED) and added that its effects were minimal because the device did not contain nails and other hazardous items that gives an added effect to the explosive.
No one has been arrested in this connection so far. Police have ruled out the hand of ANVC militants and believe that the blast was triggered by some vested interests for creating confusion in the minds of the electorate. The explosion did dampen the elections as shops downed their shutters and people retreated to their homes after hearing the news of the explosion. People of Tura town woke up on polling day with caution anticipating further violence. But the markets soon gained confidence and shops opened up prompting people to come out and exercise their franchise.
Polling began throughout Garo Hills on a moderate note with most polling stations recording a good turnout of voters and officials were optimistic that it will cross the 60 per cent mark at the end of the day. Despite Wednesday night?s bomb blast at Tura by unidentified miscreants, barring Tura town, it failed to deter voters from turning out in large numbers to cast their ballot. No untoward incidents have been reported from any part of the three districts of Garo Hills since polling began at 7 am.
In West Garo Hills polling began on a slow note but gradually picked up by 10 am. Till 10 am officials have put the polling percentage at around 25 per cent. However, in the plain belt areas of the district voters turned out in large numbers to cast their ballots. In Monabari polling station over 900 voters were found already in a queue by 10 a.m. ready to cast their votes.
In Tura, voting began at a slow pace but gradually picked up by around 9 a.m. However, by midday it had once again fell. This was most noticeable in the polling stations of Tura Bazar. The turnout was extremely large throughout the morning in Dobasipara polling station of the town. In East Garo Hills polling has been put at 40 per cent in all the seven constituencies till 12 noon while South Garo Hills recorded around 30 per cent during the same part of the day in its five constituencies. Counting will take place on Saturday at Tura Government College.