Andhra Pradesh govt braces for cyclone Phethai

Power supply to Kakinada city was shut and fishermen were asked to stay away from the sea with Cyclone Phethai expected to cross the coast near Kakinada on Monday afternoon.

The Andhra Pradesh government is bracing for the impact of the cyclone, by declaring high alert in 350 coastal villages in 30 blocks and gave holidays for schools.

The movement of flights from Visakhapatnam airport was stopped and the South Central Railway has cancelled and redirected several trains including Janmabhumi, Simhadri and Venkatadri.

In the port city of Kakinada, a five number warning has been issued and a search was initiated for the six fishermen from Dummulapet of rural Kakinada who went missing while on high sea off Kakinada coast. However, the government succeeded in bringing back 348 fishing boats along with the fishermen safely.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu who held a video conference from Amaravati with district collectors of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East Godavari and nodal officers, asked them to be on standby all the time and treat the situation as an emergency.

He asked collectors to entrust the responsibility of each village to an officer and see that there is no human or cattle loss in any coastal village. In all 10,000 electric poles have been kept ready.

In addition to NDRF, and naval aircraft from INS Dega and INS Rajali around 10000 policemen and 10,000 state government staff are and standing by to face any eventuality.

Railway issues a safety warning

Vinod Kumar Yadav, General Manager, South Central Railway has instructed the Divisional Railway managers of the Divisions which are likely to bear the direct and indirect impact of the cyclone. Extensive patrolling of the railway tracks is being continuously undertaken to ensure safe movement of trains and to regulate any services in case of need.

All the Station Masters of stations on the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh have been advised to maintain close liaison with the State authorities and with higher Railway Officials, for proper co-ordination. They will also be reaching out to the needy rail users for arranging any requirement in terms of food, resting and other such requirements that can arise.

Helpline Control to monitor the situation on a 24 x 7 basis has been put into operation at Vijayawada. (9121271340, 9121271447, 0866-2576924).