Women queue up to cast their votes for the civic polls in Gaya on Thursday. Picture by Suman

Polling for various civic bodies in most districts remained peaceful on Thursday barring a few skirmishes in some parts of the state.

Voters were seen waiting in long queues at several booths even as the mercury soared well beyond the 42ºC mark at many places.

Over 12 people were injured in clashes between rival groups in Bhagalpur, prompting the administration to cancel polling at 12 booths. The temperature in the district was 42°C. Sources said a section of the electorate was aggrieved over the administration’s decision to shift ward number 2 at Champanagar and ward no. 33 at Barhapura. The situation was similar at booths 7 and 8 at Saraswati Sishu Vidhya Mandir school in Nilkanthnagar. The protesters hurled stones on the school building, even as some residents tried to resist them. In the ensuing clashes between the two groups, around 12 people were injured.

District magistrate Narmadeshwar Lal said the administration recommended cancellation of polling at eight stations of ward no. 33 and four of ward no. 2. Till reports last came in, the district recorded 40 per cent polling.

No untoward incident was reported from Chhapra, the district headquarters of Saran, where 251 candidates are in the fray for 44 seats of the nagar parishad. Around 56 per cent of about 7 lakh voters exercised their franchise amid heavy security arrangements. Sources said 28 people were arrested for trying to obstruct voters in a number of wards.

Polling in neighbouring Siwan and Gopalganj districts was also peaceful. Siwan saw 56 per cent of polling, while the percentage in Gopalganj was around 55. At least 75 people were arrested for creating trouble. Altogether 153 candidates are in the fray for 38 wards of Siwan Nagar Parishad, while the corresponding figure for 28 wards in Gopalganj is 124.

Heavy security arrangement was in place across 48 wards of Darbhanga Municipal Corporation. Though no major untoward incident was reported, 22 people were detained for trying to create trouble and several vehicles seized under various police stations of the town.

Polling was held up for quite some time in a booth at Chakia in Motihari following a scuffle between two groups, though the process to elect representatives for two nagar parishads and three nagar panchayats remained peaceful. The nagar parishads are in Motihari, the headquarters of East Champaran and Raxaul, while the nagar parishads are in Chakia, Dhaka and Areraj.

A security blanket was thrown over the district bordering Nepal to ensue trouble-free polling. District election officer-cum-East Champaran district magistrate Abhijit Sinha said the poll percentage was about 50 even as the temperature stood at an uncomfortable 43°C.

Sources said 63 people were detained for trying to create disturbance during polling in Gaya. A candidate from ward number 10 of Gaya Municipal Corporation (GMC) and outgoing deputy mayor of Akhauri Onkarnath, alias Mohan Shrivastava, was asked to report at Rampur police station following district magistrate-cum-district election officer Bandana Preyashi’s order to extern 26 people from their respective police stations to ensure free and fair polling.

District administration spokesman and district public relations officer Dheeraj Narayan Sudhanshu said three motorcycles and 20 cellphones were seized from various areas.

Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat topped the poll percentage (75), while 55 per cent voters turned up to elect their representatives at GMC and 60 per cent at Tekari Nagar Panchayat. The temperature in Gaya was recorded at 43.9°C.