StatesAndhra Pradesh
Murasu: nine trains cancelled, Vijayawada families moved over landslide fears
South Coast Railway called off passenger and express services around Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali, while the NTR district administration shifted families from the Mogalrajapuram hillside as heavy rain moves inland.
Key points
- South Coast Railway has cancelled nine trains on the Vijayawada, Guntur and Tenali routes.
- Families in Mogalrajapuram were moved to relief camps as a precaution against landslides.
- The IMD has red warnings for six districts, including NTR, Krishna and Guntur.
South Coast Railway has cancelled nine trains in central Andhra Pradesh as a precaution against Cyclone Murasu, which crossed the coast near Ongole before dawn on Tuesday and is now pushing heavy rain inland.
The cancellations cover short-haul passenger services that thousands of daily commuters depend on. Trains from Vijayawada to Gudur, Guntur to Tenali and Tenali to Repalle that were due to leave on Monday were called off, along with Tuesday’s services from Gudur to Vijayawada, Tenali to Guntur, Repalle to Markapur and Markapur to Tenali. The Vijayawada-Gudur Express pair, 12744 and 12743, is cancelled in both directions.
In Vijayawada, the NTR district administration moved several families living on the slopes of Mogalrajapuram to relief camps in case the rain sets off landslides. Collector Lakshmisha said there were no major problems in the district from the storm so far, and asked residents to stay indoors given the forecast of heavy to very heavy rain.
The worry is well founded. “Red warnings have been issued to Krishna, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, NTR, and Prakasam,” said K Nagaratna, Director of the IMD in Andhra Pradesh. Fishermen have been told to stay off the sea until Wednesday morning.
Air travel is hit too. At least 19 domestic flights were cancelled at Vijayawada, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam airports, and Eluru district has shut schools, colleges and anganwadis for the day because of continuous rain.