Gando:

In Dadkai village in Gando area of ​​Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, also known as India’s “silent village”, three mute sisters are eagerly waiting to cast their first vote, besides encouraging other villagers to cast their votes.

Doda is part of the Udhampur Assembly constituency, which will go to polls in the first phase on Friday (April 19) to decide the fate of 12 candidates, including Union Minister Jitendra of the BJP Jitendra Singh, former Congress MP Choudhary Lal Singh and former minister DPAP general manager Saroori.

This hilltop tribe village is located 105 km from Bhaderwah town and has 105 families. Among them, 55 families mysteriously have at least one person who can neither speak nor obey. There are 84 people in the village, including 43 women and 14 children under 10 years old.

Despite hearing and speech impairments, the three siblings, aged between 20 and 24, are optimistic about going to the polls after their names were included in the electoral roll.

Doda: Three silent sisters of Dadhkai Panchayat in Gando, J&K, also known as Silent Village of India, are enthusiastically preparing to cast their votes tomorrow and inspire others to participate in the festival of democracy.

Report: @tnkyz@harvinder_ias@dcdoda officialpic.twitter.com/Lug3pQzMpS

— DD News Jammu | DD News Jammu (@ddnews_jammu) April 18, 2024

Reshma Bano (24), Parveen Kousar (22) and Saira Khatoon (20), daughters of Reham Ali of Dadhkai B Panchayat, are keen to vote for the elections and become a source of inspiration to their neighbors and relatives. For the first time in their lives.

Ali, 62, said the girls were so excited they had already chosen what to wear on polling day.

They advised each other in sign language what to wear. They also proudly display their voter ID cards and show them to everyone who visits the home.

“We couldn’t figure out why they were so anxious about voting… When any neighbor or relative came to our house, the girls would show them their voter ID cards and try to explain them about voting,” Ali said.

Jamath Dennis, who lives nearby, said: “Despite their disability, these deaf sisters have become a source of inspiration to us all and their desire and enthusiasm to vote are to be commended. This is becoming a motivating factor for us to vote. “The villagers voted actively. ” Mohd Rafiq, the former head of the village, said that the whole village is proud of the young voters, especially the girls, who have become the talk of every household and a motivating factor for everyone.

“We expect a 100 percent turnout in the village,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)