Kolkata: Come rain or shine, voters on Wednesday did not seem bothered by the weather, the sense of unease following the SIR exercise apparently being a stronger motive. Picnic Garden resident Gouri Routh, who was released from hospital two days ago, did not think twice about going to vote, even when it rained. Gouri and her family vote at Elias Meyer School in Bowbazar. Her son, Kamal, said, “My mother returned home two days ago but given the SIR fear, we came to vote.” Seventy-one-year-old Ruma Sil got stranded in the rain, but it was after she cast her vote. “I came early to avoid rain but while I was waiting, it started raining heavily,” said Sil.When Amiya Pal and wife Kalyani reached their booth in Jadavpur at 10.15 am, a long queue had already built up. They returned to vote around 1 pm. “We have never seen such long queues. The SIR scare is a driving force,” he said.Gynaecologist Sushil Kumar Samanta (85) from Salt Lake FE Block went to the booth, armed with a walker and assisted by his son. “I underwent a surgery but did not want to skip vote. I was not made to wait in a queue,” he said. The IMD prediction for rain prompted many to carry umbrellas. “As the sky was overcast, I took my umbrella. Voting was a priority, especially as my name was restored after judicial scrutiny,” said Kajal Das from Kasba. Basanti Saha and her husband were in the queue in Panihati, when it started raining. They got drenched but did not leave without voting.The rain stopped in about an hour. Kashmira Guha Niyogi, a Park Street resident, said: “I usually vote early but this time, we went only after the rain stopped.”
