Indians go to polls in test for Modi’s cash ban
For the first time in the country, temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius were reported by several monitoring stations, Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) said on Saturday.
Places such as Mazyouna and Qairoon in Dhofar recorded temperatures as low as five degrees Celsius at 7 am.
Adam, Bahla and Ibri recorded six degrees, Haima, Izki, Thamrait (seven),
Buraimi and SAIQ JABAL SHAMS Marmul (eight), and Dhalkout, Rustaq and Saham (9). Mazyona, Izki and Dhalkout recorded new minimum temperatures.
They had last recorded the lowest temperatures three years ago.
Even as the country witnessed its coldest winter in the recent years, there were reports of heavy hail across Musandam.
Images of the mountains in the areas being covered with hail or snow were being circulated across various media since Friday morning. “I have seen this before and it was unbelievable that we
are in Oman or places known to us as AL MAZYOUNA, MAHDHA YANQUL, IBRI, ADAM deserts,” a tourist from Europe said in her online post.
“No rains and hail today in Khasab, but it is very cold. Things are normal now on the ground too as compared to yesterday,” said an official at Atana Khasab.
An official at Oman Meteorology told the Observer that clear skies have been forecast for Sunday, with temperatures likely to rise by two degrees. NEW DELHI: Millions of Indians went to the polls on Saturday in the opening round of regional elections seen as the first major test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party after his controversial move to ban high-value notes.
Five Indian states will elect new governments over the next five weeks, with northern Punjab and west coast Goa on Saturday witnessing high turnout in the first leg of the multi-phased elections.
Modi’s move to ban notes in November that made up 86 per cent of the currency was aimed at curbing tax evasion, but it has also dented growth and caused widespread pain in the cash-reliant nation.
His personal popularity has remained high well into his first term, but the elections are being seen as a test of its endurance.
More than 76 per cent of the 20 million eligible voters in Punjab and Goa turned out to cast their ballots to elect a total of 157 legislators, the Election Commission of India said.
“Goa had a record 83 per cent voter turnout. Punjab witnessed marginally low turnout at 70 per cent,” Umesh Singh, an ECI official, told reporters in New Delhi.
Singh said voting went smoothly in both states with only minor delays caused by faulty voting machines.
Massive security arrangements had been put in place to ensure violence-free voting.
REPORT ON P8