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Congress supporters brave the heat

Special Correspondent

Most of them were from rural areas

Pondicherry: A large crowd turned up at Uppalam here on Tuesday where Congress president Sonia Gandhi addressed an election meeting.

Most of the people from rural areas arrived long before Ms. Gandhi did and were seen struggling to withstand the summer heat.

On bare ground

There was not a single tree on the campus, which is in the vicinity of the port.

People began leaving the ground in search of shade but came rushing back when Ms. Gandhi's helicopter was spotted.

The heat was so unbearable that one could see a woman from Manaveli faint. There was a big clamour for sachets of drinking water.

As soon as bundles of the sachets arrived, people thirsting for water swarmed around the traders and some were seen snatching the water pockets.

Congress functionaries made frequent appeals through the public address system to the police not to prevent those bringing the bundles.

Ms. Gandhi was visibly moved by the turnout and thanked them for their presence despite the hot sun.

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