A giant balloon carrying election awareness messages was released at the old bus stand in Mayiladuthurai on Saturday to encourage 100% voter turnout in the forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

The event was led by District Collector and District Election Officer H.S. Srikanth as part of a series of initiatives undertaken by the district administration to promote voter participation ahead of polling scheduled for April 23 as announced by the Election Commission.

Officials said multiple awareness programmes are conducted across the district, particularly in public places, to emphasise the importance of voting. Steps are being taken to ensure that all basic facilities are available at polling stations so that voters can cast their ballots without difficulty.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Srikanth urged citizens to exercise their franchise, stressing that voting is both a right and a democratic duty. He called upon voters not to forgo their vote under any circumstances and to act in the larger public interest.

District Revenue Officer R. Poongodi, Project Officer (Mahalir Thittam) Srinivasan, and Regional Transport Inspector Ramkumar were present.