As many as 25 Sikhs have been elected as panches and sarpanches in the ongoing Panchayat elections in Kashmir reflecting communal harmony and secularism in the Valley despite two-decade long turmoil. Besides the Sikhs,a couple of Kashmiri pandits have been elected as panches and sarpanches in the Muslim-majority Valley,official sources said. The 16-phase polls commenced in Jammu and Kashmir on April 13 after a gap of over a decade and is expected to be completed next week. Thanking the majority community for showing faith in the Sikhs in the recent Panchayat elections,chairman All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) Jagmohan Singh Raina urged the elected members to work for the uplift of the people. We urge sikh members to work as per the expectation of the masses so that next time they are elected unopposed, he said. He hoped that the panchayats would ensure empowerment of people at grass-root level,besides accelerating the pace of development of rural areas. Panchayat elections have after a long period opened a new window in the development process and public representation,as the grass root levels would be actively involved in the launch,implementation and monitoring of schemes at Panchayat level, he said.
