Chennai: Heavy rain in Southern and Cauvery Delta districts did not deter the electorate from exercising their franchise on Monday as people came out of their home braving the rain.
The heavy rains along with strong winds was witnessed in Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapatinam districts. Many parts of these districts also witnessed power outages.
Armed with their umbrellas and raincoats, people walked out of their homes to the polling stations to ensure that they fulfill their democratic right. Voters reached the polling stations with umbrellas like former Union minister P. Chidambaram in Sivagangai district.
The rains were caused by a low pressure over the Indian Ocean, which continued to remain stationary. “The low pressure area over Indian Ocean and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal had become wellmarked and lay over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lanka,” a bulletin from the Met department said. In its forecast for the next 24-48 hours, Met office said heavy to very heavy rainfall was likely to occur at one or two places over South Tamil Nadu.
In Rameswaram, polling was underway with candle light and mobile phone torch due to power failure in many polling booths. “It is raining very heavily since last night but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to cast my vote. Hence I decided to walk to the polling station with an umbrella,” said K. Parameshwaran, a resident of Bharathi Nagar in Ramanathapuram. The polling was also slowed down in the rain hit districts due to power outage.
