At 29 degrees Celsius, Udhagamandalam smashes all-time temperature record
The temperature has been steadily rising, and breached 40 degrees Celsius in several parts of the State on Monday
The DMK on Monday submitted a plea to the Election Commission of India (EC) seeking a direction to ensure uninterrupted CCTV coverage in all strong rooms, where the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been stored after polling on April 19.
The party also sought a direction from the EC for declaring the places where the EVMs had been stored as ‘drones no-¡y zone’.
DMK Rajya Sabha member N.R. Elango handed over his party’s representation in this regard to Chief Electoral Ocer Satyabrata Sahoo at the Secretariat in Chennai on Monday.
Incident in the Nilgiris
The representation, by DMK organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi, followed an incident in the Nilgiris parliamentary constituency, where CCTV surveillance of the strong room was interrupted for a few minutes on April 27. This incident, the DMK said, was an instance where a “reasonable apprehension” could be drawn regarding the safety and security of the strong rooms.
“The only way to monitor the security of the strong room is through uninterrupted CCTV coverage of the facility and by giving permission to political parties to view the monitor of the CCTV at any point in time. A backup of the recorded video should also be preserved from the time the strong rooms were sealed till they are opened on counting day,” the ruling party added.
With peak summer around the corner, the temperature has been steadily rising, and breached 40 degrees Celsius in several parts of the State on Monday.
Udhagamandalam smashed the all-time temperature record, witnessing 29 degrees Celsius for the second consecutive day on Monday.
S. Balachandran, Additional Director-General of Meteorology, RMC Chennai, said that Udhagamandalam had earlier recorded an all-time-high temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius on April 29, 1986.
The temperatures are gradually increasing at the national level. Changes in local weather patterns and environmental concerns could also be a reason behind the temperature variation, he added.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow warning till May 3, indicating that government agencies must keep a watch and stay updated on the hot and humid weather likely to prevail in the State.
Prolonged dry weather has led to the daytime temperature crossing 40 degrees Celsius in 11 weather stations across the State. Erode, which has been sizzling for several days, experienced oppressive heat on Monday. It was the hottest place in the State, recording a daytime temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius.
Intense heat has been gradually building up in Chennai as well. On Monday, the weather stations in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam registered 36.2 degrees Celsius and 37.8 degrees Celsius, respectively. However, residents said that the real feel temperature was more than what was recorded.
The Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said that the maximum temperature would be three to four degrees Celsius above average in interior parts of the State till May 3. Extreme temperatures may scorch some north interior places as the mercury level is expected to soar to 39-43 degrees Celsius on May 2 and 3.
The heat wave may tighten its grip on isolated pockets of north interior Tamil Nadu on Thursday and Friday. Some parts of south Tamil Nadu and the western ghats may receive light rain from Tuesday.