Crops submerged, rail tracks washed away as rain batters Srikakulam

The aftermath of Cyclone ‘Nilam' continues to cause havoc in Andhra Pradesh with unprecedented damage to Srikakulam district following floods in Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers. Bahuda and Mahendra Tanaya rivers are also in spate with heavy rains in the catchment areas of Odisha. Almost 80, 000 acres of crop have been damaged and 43 villages inundated in the district. The officials of all the mandals have been alerted to provide shelter for the people living in low-lying areas. Around 40 houses have collapsed in Srikakulam, Rajam, Santakaviti mandals.

Nagavali river which passes through Srikakulam town was in spate on Sunday morning. With heavy inflows from the catchment area, 71,000 cusecs of water was released on Sunday evening. The flood waters were lapping at the old bridge in Gujaratipet, though officials denied any threat to it. Rivulets, tanks and reservoirs were overflowing in several mandals including Amudalavalasa, Laveru, Nandigam, Narasannapeta, Itchapuram, Kotturu and other areas.

There has been no respite from rains for the entire Srikakulam district since Wednesday. The situation has further deteriorated with the heavy rain from Sunday night. Normal life was completely thrown out of gear. Rain water entered the Srikakulam RTC bus stand, causing inconvenience to the travellers. China Bazar and Rytu Bazar areas also turned into ponds, forcing people to remain indoors. Srikakulam Collector Saurabh Gaur who reviewed the flood situation on early hours of Monday, declared a holiday for all schools in the district.

“We halted vehicles’ movement in Palakonda-Parvatipuram road with the damage to the bridge. We have not yet established rehabilitation centers since the situation is under control. However, the administration is geared to handle any eventuality,” said Mr.Gaur. Bus and rain connectivity has been cut-off to remote places of the district. Hundreds of travellers were stranded in Srikakulam Railway Station at Amudalavalasa with the cancellation of several trains on both the routes.

Rail link to Jagadalpur snapped

Work is in progress on a war-footing to restore a 40 metre stretch of track that got washed away on the Kothavalasa-Kirandol section in the flash floods on Sunday following the incessant rains.

Rail connectivity to Kirandul and Jagdalpur has snapped affecting movement or iron ore from mines in Chhattisgarh. The tourist train to Araku has also been cancelled. One line is likely to be restored by Tuesday night and the entire stretch would be restored only by around Thursday, officials of the East Coast Railways indicated.

Not only was the track damaged, an electric substation was also washed away leading to snapping of power. The water that gushed down the hills left a 20-foot crater under the track and damaged a 40 metre long stretch of the railway line. Cinder from the steel plant and has been brought in goods wagons to help rebuild the track, an official said