As Andhra Pradesh Batters Heavy Rain, PM Modi Assures All Help

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of all possible help from the Centre to deal with the crisis following heavy rains in the state.

PM Modi spoke to Mr Naidu over phone to enquire about the prevailing flood situation in the state where several places, Vijayawada being one of the worst affected, are being pounded by heavy rainfall for the past two days due to a depression.

“Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu explained about the ongoing flood relief work while Modi told him that central government departments concerned have been directed to extend necessary help to the state,” said an official statement released by the state government late Sunday.

The prime minister said departments have also been instructed to immediately dispatch necessary equipment, it said and added that Mr Naidu thanked PM Modi for the help.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Naidu asked the Centre for additional National Disaster Response Force teams, power boats and helicopters to intensify relief operations.

Meanwhile, the Secunderabad-headquartered South Central Railway (SCR) zone, which also includes the Vijayawada Division, cancelled 140 trains and diverted 97 more on Sunday.

Nearly 6,000 passengers were provided with breakfast and drinking water at Rayanapadu, Kondapalli, Tenali, Vijayawada, Nidubrolu and Bapatla railway stations.

The Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express was halted at Rayanapadu railway station and its passengers were provided with packed food items, along with lunch arrangements.

Besides setting up emergency control rooms and helplines, the railways also made alternative travel provisions by arranging buses from Rayanapaud to Vijayawada and Kondapalli to Vijayawada. As many as 84 buses were arranged.

Telangana’s Suryapeta Superintendent of Police Sunpreet Singh advised people heading to Vijayawada and Khammam to postpone their journeys due to the inclement weather.

“Due to heavy rains, water is flowing on NH 65 at Chillakallu and Nandigama of Andhra Pradesh limits, and the Paleru river is overflowing on the road at Nayakinigudem on the way from Suryapet to Khammam,” said SP Singh in a press release.

As part of security measures, he said vehicles were stopped on these routes — heading to Vijayawada through Suryapeta.

Around midnight, Mr Naidu made his second visit to Ajit Singh Nagar in Vijayawada, one of the worst affected places, which also suffered more than 12 hours of continuous power cut on Sunday.

Accompanied by officials in a boat, the chief minister also distributed food packets to flood victims.

Submerged in floodwaters, in several places in Vijayawada water gushed through several houses.

At 12 am on Monday, 10.56 lakh cusecs of floodwaters were discharged from Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada.

Moreover, Palnadu district administration rescued 50 cattle rearers and 3,501 livestock from the meadows of Krishna river’s riparian villages, added an official statement.

The meteorological department has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning in parts of Andhra Pradesh for four days from September 2 to 5.

It forecast thunderstorms at isolated places in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh (NCAP), Yanam, South Coastal Andhra Pradesh (SCAP) and Rayalaseema on Monday.

Similar weather has been predicted from Tuesday to Friday over NCAP and Yanam, along with strong surface winds with speeds reaching up to 40 km per hour in parts of Andhra Pradesh.