Heavy Rainfall Hits RTC Operations, Power Supply in Visakha Region

Visakhapatnam: The heavy rainfall in the combined Visakha district has caused major disruptions to RTC bus services and power supply in the region on Wednesday.

RTC cancelled services to distant areas, including daily services from here to Hyderabad and to Vijayawada, Kakinada and Rajamahendravaram. Bus services in the Anakapalle district have also been affected as heavy rainfall inundated a bridge near Vaddadi.

Night services to Seeleru and Bhadrachalam have been suspended.

RTC manager Andhavarapu Appalaraju told Deccan Chronicle that daytime service occupancy has significantly decreased due to adverse weather conditions, including roadblocks in the Agency area due to fall of trees and branches. This led to a drop in the average occupancy ratio to 52 per cent. RTC's daily income has decreased from an average of Rs 98 lakh to Rs 78 lakh over the past five days.

Strong winds led to power outages in Araku and surrounding areas since Monday. Electricity officials said the strong winds caused tree branches to fall on power lines, disrupting the supply.

Allegations have been made that the residents of Devarapalli and Gajapatinagar Mentada mandals are blocking electricity supply to Anantagiri mandal due to high electricity demand for agricultural boreholes in Devarapalli and Mentada. This caused power supply disruptions in villages in the Agency areas, including Pinakota, Peddakota, Kiverla, Chinabadu, Painampadu, Vengada, Valasi, Languparthi and Rombilli.

D. Gangaraju, a member of the Anantagiri Zilla Parishad territorial committee, told Deccan Chronicle, “We are demanding an electricity substation in Valais village to address this issue. The matter will be raised at the Zilla Parishad governing body meeting on July 27. We will also lodge a complaint with the district collector.”