Trains, flights from Vizag cancelled

Several trains and a few evening flights from the city were cancelled on Saturday even as RTC buses hit the road after a two-month hiatus.

As many as seven trains were cancelled, eight short-terminated, and 26 diverted by the East Coast Railway on Saturday.

All mail /express and passengers trains, running over ECoR were cancelled on Saturday. The position of mail / express trains will be announced from time to time, according to Senior Divisional Commercial Manager M. Yelvender Yadav. All passenger trains scheduled between Palasa-Visakhapatnam-Palasa, Puri-Gunupur-Puri, Puri-Gunupur-Palasa, and between Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam- Vizianagaram have been cancelled on Sunday also.

Four flights, including the Air India flight to Dubai, the one coming from Delhi, and the Jetlite flight to Bangalore have been cancelled.

Airport Director K. Srinivasa Rao said the airlines had cancelled the flights as a precautionary measure in view of possible gales.

‘RTC ready to extend relief’

Meanwhile, the National Mazdoor Union (NMU) of APSRTC said employees were prepared to extend their services for relief work in view of the cyclone.

NMU State joint secretary Y. Srinivasa Rao said the RTC workers were ready to launch another agitation for Samaikyandhra if Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy failed to keep his promise on the issue. He said the strike was temporarily called off in view of the problems being faced by the people.

Relief camps

People of low-lying areas in the city and district were shifted to relief camps.

As many as 1,850 people of S. Rayavaram mandal, 7,500 of Rambilli mandal, 40 of Gajuwaka, 4,600 of Atchutapuram mandal, 200 people of Parawada, 2,600 of Nakkapalli, 915 of Bheemunipatnam, and 3,600 people affected under Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits were shifted to 20 relief camps.