Rains accompanied with cold winds disrupted normal life here on Thursday. A sudden drop in temperatures, cold breeze and incessant rain under the impact of Cyclone Nivar throughout the day kept residents indoors.
Many school and college students stayed at home due to the weather. “It was feeling like a cold wave. My friends and I decided not to go to school and stay indoors. It was finally time to take out the woollens from the closet to keep ourselves warm,” said Rashmika, a Class IX student of a government school.
Markets wore a dull look, including the rythu bazaars. Many small neighbourhood stores also downed their shutters for the day. Bigger retail outlets closed by early evening as there were few customers.
Small-scale eateries suffered losses as patrons stayed away due to the weather. Most of the restaurants also did not serve food through online food delivery services due to the rain. Those who stayed open charged a hefty additional fee, as not many delivery boys were available. Similar was the case with online cab services too.
Citizens complained about bad roads that were dotted with potholes at various places, which re-surfaced due to the rains. On a few roads, the ongoing works of the underground cabling project have created problems yet again. Citizens alleged that despite repeated requests, the civic body and APEPDCL have failed to respond.
“Even the beach road from Tenneti Park to Appughar is filled with potholes. If a driver is new to the stretch, he or she might meet with an accident. Big potholes have surfaced in the past few weeks. During rain, it is tough to notice the potholes,” said K. Raju, a resident of MVP Colony.
However, despite the rains, there were no reports of flooding or clogging of drains. No untoward incidents were reported from the city or district limits till late evening.
During the rains in October, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) had suffered a ₹15 crore loss. It is yet to be ascertained by officials whether Thursday’s rain caused any damage to property.
‘Cold wave’ in Agency
Meanwhile, a similar situation prevailed in Visakha Agency for the last couple of days. Locals said cold winds forced them to stay indoors after 4 p.m. Temperatures hovered around 17°-20° C in Ananthagiri, G. Madugula, Chintapalle, Paderu, G.K. Veedhi, Paderu and a few other areas in the Agency during the day time, according to the Chief Minister’s dashboard.
“Going out in a vehicle has become risky both in the morrning and evening, as most parts of the Agency are engulfed in thick fog. After 5 p.m., we are witnessing a cold wave. Elderly persons and children are bearing the brunt,” said D. Upendra, a resident of Paderu.
