Severe rain disrupts Alluri Sitarama Raju district; roads and communication cut off

VISAKHAPATNAM: The continuous rains have severely affected the road and communication networks in the newly formed Alluri Sitarama Raju district, particularly the main road from GK Veedhi to Seeleru, which connects four states including Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.

The damage to this interstate road has cut off around 160 villages from the outside world, with seven bridges collapsing and landslides occurring at 15 places. Engineers estimate that it may take around 10 days to restore vehicular movement on the road.

The lack of communication due to the absence of mobile tower signals has left people in the affected areas waiting for medical aid. A woman named Sumitra, injured in the Chatrayipalli landslide area in GK Veedhi mandal, had to be treated at the Sapparla PHC with temporary bandages due to the lack of equipment and road connectivity to the Chintapalli Area Hospital.

It is noteworthy that no repairs have been carried out on this stretch for the past five years, and several bridges along the route have been washed away.

ITDA Project Officer Abhishek stated that apart from the 45 km stretch, most of the main roads are accessible to the public, thanks to the authorities' necessary arrangements. However, removing boulders on the stretch has proven to be a challenging task due to continuous landslides.

The Chintapalli to Narsipatnam road has also been damaged, with the Madigunta causeway being washed away. Alternative arrangements have been made for the safe passage of vehicles.

The danger of overflowing streams and rivulets persists in various places, while heavy flood water inflows have raised the levels in Jolaputt, Balimela, and other reservoirs. Tribal Welfare Minister Gummadi Sandhya Rani has promised to build a new road from GK Veedhi to Seeleru and prepare proposals for permanent roads in tribal villages and seven Assembly Constituencies.

Meanwhile, RTC authorities have temporarily cancelled Visakhapatnam to Bhadrachalam via Seeleru bus services, which will resume only after the repairs of the GK Veedhi and Seeleru stretch. Other services, such as Anakapalli to Jolaput, Madugula, Narsipatnam to Chintapalli, Addarod, Mampa, Maredumilli, Seeleru, and Revalla, have also been cancelled.

Visakhapatnam to Araku RTS services resumed on Wednesday after four days, while Madugula and Paderu services from Visakhapatnam are short-terminated at Chodavaram.