Jammu, April 13 (IANS) Voting for the first phase of panchayat elections commenced here Wednesday, with villagers queuing up outside polling booths to elect village heads for the first time in a decade.

The polls, being held for 4,128 panchayats, are scheduled to be held in 16 phases and will last till May-end.

Villagers have started turning up in large numbers in the villages of Udhampur, Samba and Bishnah blocks of Jammu region to cast their vote. There is much enthusiasm among the voters.

The last panchayat elections were held in the state in 2001.

Voters in Jammu region have turned up at the polling booths despite militant groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba asking the voters to desist from voting and separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani giving the call to boycott the panchayat elections.

"The atmosphere is quite peaceful and we are keeping watch over the situation," Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Dilbagh Singh told IANS.

The panchayat polls are being held after the state assembly elections in 2008, which witnessed over 62 percent turnout despite stiff opposition from separatist groups here.