Visakhapatnam: South Coastal Railway has cancelled 61 trains in view of cyclone ‘Arnab’, which is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast October 28.
South Coast Railway announced cancellation/short termination/short origination of several trains in the interest of passenger safety.
Visakhapatnam-Kirandul and Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Night Express have been cancelled from October 29 to November 4.
Visakhapatnam-Koraput Passenger will remain cancelled from October 27 to October 30, while the pairing train stands cancelled from October 28 to October 31.
Visakhapatnam-Koraput and Koraput-Visakhapatnam Intercity Express are cancelled October 30 and October 31, respectively.
Visakhapatnam-Kirandul and Kirandul-Visakhapatnam Passenger are cancelled from October 27 to October 30.
As many as 53 trains on various routes within Andhra Pradesh, which were scheduled to leave October 27 and/or 28, have been cancelled.
The cancelled trains include Rajahmundry-Vijayawada Junction, Machilipatnam-Vijayawada Junction, Machilipatnam-Gudivada Junction, Vijayawada Junction-Bhimavaram Junction, Bhimavaram Junction-Nidadavolu Junction, Vijayawada Junction-Narsapur, Narsapur-Rajahmundry and Kakinada Port-Rajahmundry.
Passengers have been requested to check the train-wise cancellation details, note their journey commencement dates and verify train status before proceeding to stations.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh state government has released Rs. 27 crore to 20 districts for relief operations in view of the cyclone threat.
According to an official release, Rs. 2 crore each has been allocated to the districts of Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema, East Godavari, Kakinada, and Anakapalli.
Sai Prasad, Special Chief Secretary of the Disaster Management Department, issued orders allocating Rs. 1 crore each to the districts of Srikakulam, Markapuram, Guntur, NTR, Eluru, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Polavaram, Manyam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Sri Sathya Sai, Nellore, and Tirupati.
The state government has stepped up its preparedness to tackle Cyclone Arnab, with a primary focus on preventing loss of life and minimising property damage. Various departments are coordinating precautionary measures, evacuation plans and emergency response operations to address the anticipated impact of the cyclone.
Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) Secretary Bhaskar Katamneni and CEO Prakhar Jain are continuously reviewing cyclone preparedness measures and coordinating with officials from various departments.
Officials are regularly briefing Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on the precautionary measures being implemented and the overall preparedness to manage the cyclone.
