The speedy repair works done to the arterial roads that were damaged in floods in Chittoor district have ensured restoration of traffic on most of the routes.
However, traffic remained disrupted on the Tirupati – Chittoor route via Pachikapalam and Devalampeta as flood water from Rayalacheruvu tank inundated the roads. However, the highway route connecting the temple city to the district headquarters is intact. Similarly, traffic remained hit on the Pakala-Punganur route via Sodam and Somala, as the bridge on the Gargeya river turned creaky. The overflowing Swarnamukhi river also caused disruption in rural traffic in Yerpedu and Srikalahasti mandals.
The Tirupati region of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has suffered a loss of ₹60 lakh each for three days when the swollen water bodies brought life to a standstill last week.
“Even as the long-distance services from Tirupati towards Chennai, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Bengaluru, Nellore and Kadapa have been restored, the intra-district routes, especially those covering villages, remain disrupted or diverted,” said APSRTC Regional Manager T. Chengal Reddy.
Rural services from Tirupati towards Kandada, Musalipedu and Gudimallam suffered due to obstruction at Govindavaram and Papanaidupeta. The damaged Pakala underbridge took a toll on Mangalampeta and Maddinayanapalli routes. Similarly, services from Chittoor towards Bangarupalyam and Ragimanupenta were confined up to Aragonda and those towards Paturu and Pakala stopped at Irala. Madanapalle - Galiveedu services are operating up to Peddamandyam.
Trains diverted
The flood water in Rajampet – Nandalur section of the South Central Railways’ Guntakal division and Renigunta – Pudi section of the Chennai division continues to haunt railways, with many trains running on diverted routes. The 17417/17418 Tirupati – Sainagar Shirdi – Tiruipati has been restored, but diverted via Pakala Dharmavaram and Gooty. 12246 Yesvantpur – Howrah and 12864 Howrah – Yesvantpur got cancelled on Tuesday.
The Renigunta – Pudi section damage led to cancellation of 22160/22159 Chennai Central - CST Mumbai – Chennai Central, 12164/12163 Chennai Central – LTT Mumbai – Chennai Central, 22619 Bilaspur – Tirunelveli (all commencing Tuesday) and 12589 Gorakhpur – Secunderabad (commencing Wednesday) trains.
