Jammu and Kashmir government cancels leaves of all employees until the end of local body polls

The leaves of government employees in Jammu and Kashmir have been cancelled by the state government till the conclusion of the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and panchayat polls. The state government stated that only leaves on medical and study grounds are allowed. They have also ordered that all the employees should remain available at their respective headquarters and places of postings till the conclusion of elections. According to DNA, an order issued by the Commissioner Secretary to Government, General Administration Department on Monday read, “Leaves of any kind sanctioned to government employees except leaves sanctioned on medical grounds or for study purposes shall stand cancelled forthwith. The concerned employees shall report to their respective places of posting immediately.” [caption id=“attachment_5105231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] The ULB polls will be held in four phases from 8 to 16 October. The panchayat elections will be held in nine phases on a non-party basis beginning 17 November. The notification for the first phase of panchayat elections will be issued on 23 October. The two major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir — the  National Conference  and the  Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) — have decided to boycott the polls, saying that the central government is yet to declare its stand on Article 35A. Ahead of the elections, Jammu and Kashmir’s Director-General of Police Dilbagh Singh and the valley’s top army official Lieutenant-General AK Bhatt on Monday, reviewed the security situation, at a meeting in Handwara of Kupwara district of the state. Addressing the officers, the DGP emphasised that the existing cooperation and synergy between different forces is to be further strengthened to combat the terrorism and also to ensure smooth conduct of the local governance elections. More than seven Panchayat Ghars — six in South Kashmir district of Pulwama and Shopian and one in Central Kashmir district of Budgam — have been torched since the election schedule was announced for the ULB and panchyat elections. With inputs from PTI