The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Rain wreaks havoc in city

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Friday, Jun 06, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Rain wreaks havoc in city

Staff Reporter

Two-wheeler riders and pedestrians have a tough time

Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

Revolting sight: A scene on beach road in the city on Thursday after drains overflowed following rain. —

VISAKHAPATNAM: It took hardly 30 minutes of rain to turn one of the best roads in the city into a mess on Thursday evening. Though the downpour brought welcome relief from the sweltering summer heat, it caused problems to motorists, especially two-wheeler riders.

The stretch between the Submarine Museum ‘Kursura’ and YMCA was the worst affected due to the clogging of a major drain. The road was under a sheet of water and motorists had a tough time in plying on the road. Motorcyclists were seen dragging their bikes and a car broke down, perhaps, due to water entering the engine. Pedestrians had a tough time in wading though the drain water and avoiding the material wastes that lay scattered all over the road.

Huge hoardings were ripped apart by the strong winds that preceded the rain. The shamiyana (tent) erected for the launch of the pre-paid parking cards of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation collapsed and the function was cancelled.

The digging up of one side of the Sankar Matham Main Road for laying the water pipeline compounded the woes of motorists. Wires lay across the road at some places.

Meanwhile, the Cyclone Warning Centre attributed the rain to a thunderstorm and described it as a ‘local phenomena’.

Trains delayed

Several trains, scheduled to leave Visakhapatnam Railway Station, were inordinately delayed due to the snapping of traction lines between Visakhapatnam and Gopalapatnam on Thursday evening.

The lines snapped when a tree fell on them following gales. The Godavari Express was delayed by more than two hours and several trains including East Coast Express, Falaknuma and the incoming Simhadri Express were delayed by more than three hours.

The bandh being observed in West Bengal on Thursday has also resulted in delays in the arrival of trains coming from Howrah.

The snapped lines were restored later.

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