TIRUCHY: The difficulties faced from the mercury level in Tiruchy crossing 40 degree Centigrade notwithstanding, some turned heads when they also cast aside other troubles and commitments to vote in the general election on Friday.

One such voter was S Muthusamy (85), a retired professor, who along with his wife drove down to the polling booth in Srirangam to exercise his franchise. At the entrance, a police personnel on duty, however, pointed out to him that election commission regulations restricted entry of non-duty vehicles on such premises. Ignoring the inconvenience, Muthusamy waited for his wife to get down and then parked his car almost half a kilometre away from the booth.

“Every voter must exercise his right. If one doesn’t vote, I consider it an insult to the Constitution," Muthusamy, who went on to vote, said. At the polling booth in Thennur, 76-year-old Jainulabdeen writhed in pain as he walked down to cast his vote. While the authorities offered wheelchair assistance, the elderly man turned it down and expressed preference to move without help.

"I refused to use the wheelchair as I was confident that I could walk with the pain. After all, we secured freedom through the suffering our forefathers bore," said Jainulabdeen.

Elsewhere in Chathiram, TNIE spotted Velamma, a juice vendor at work at her stall which was about a kilometre away from a polling booth. She, however, wound up operations about 2 pm when a police personnel was also on the rounds in the locality. Suspecting that she had stopped vending upon spotting him, the personnel then told Velamma that she could carry on with her work.

She, however, replied, "I decided to stop operations as I have to reach Lalgudi (almost 15 km from the spot) to cast my vote. I may get more income if I continue with sales but I have to make some sacrifice to exercise my electoral right."

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