Vizag, Ongole in the eye of Cyclone Laila

The state is bracing itself to face Cyclone Laila which had intensified and was rumbling 500 km south of Vishakhapatnam and 350 km away from Chennai over the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday night.

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, has ordered the official machinery to be on full alert even as the Indian Meteorological Department forecast that the cyclonic system was likely to intensify further and move in a west-north westerly direction and cross the coast between Ongole and Vizag in the early hours of May 20. Heavy showers and strong winds started lashing the coast of Vishakapatnam at 9.25 pm and many portions of the city plunged into darkness with power lines going bust.

The cyclone warning centre alerted that the showers could continue and intensify in the coming hours. The CWC bulletin said that Vizag, Kakinada and Nizampatnam have been placed under the Danger-7 category (where the severity of the storm is very high) while Krishnapatnam has been placed under the Danger-5 category.

The bulletin also warned that the wind speeds could touch 125 km per hour and asked fishermen not to venture out to sea.

“We are monitoring the situation closely,” said Mr T. Radha, commissioner of disaster management. “Evacuation of people in the low lying areas will begin in the early hours of May 19. Army and National Disaster Management teams are coming to help local authorities.”

Anticipating a severe battering, the government has already evacuated people from 40 villages in Nellore district to safer places.

Cops on tenterhooks as Rosaiah travels by train

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah’s train travels are giving nightmares to those charged with his security as they are having a tough time guarding the train as it stops at and passes through Naxal-affected districts and forests.

Mr Rosaiah travelled by the Simhapuri Express from Secunderabad to Ongole on April 18 to participate in a gram sabha in a remote village in Prakasam district.

Unpredictable weather conditions and still-fresh memories of former chief minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s fatal crash have ensured that helicopters are not the choice mode of transport of VVIPs these days.

A senior official of the state police said, “Intelligence Bureau had earlier alerted that Maoists could hijack trains to free incarcerated Naxal leader Kobad Ghandhy. There were several instances of Naxals targeting trains. A VIP on a train passing through Warangal in North Telangana and Khammam bordering Chhattisgarh cannot be taken easily.”

Officials of the Intelligence Security Wing say that foolproof security is being given to him on whatever route he takes. An official said, “Whether he goes by air, road or train we make all security arrangements.”

Landslip near Ongole: ‘retrieval of bodies will take 15 days’

The death toll is now 12 in the landslip that occurred in the quarry of Hamsa Minerals and Exports Limited on Thursday.

The accident is believed to be the worst tragedy that struck the dollar-rich galaxy granite industry at Chimakurthi, 24 km from here.

Mining officials decided to blast the massive boulder, clear the debris and retrieve the bodies. Stating that they had to follow all safety norms and blast the boulder using scientific methods, Director of Mines V.D. Rajagopal said it would take 15 days to complete the daunting task.

While two bodies were recovered, 10 bodies lay trapped under sixty-foot high debris weighing about 35,000 tonnes. The victims were crushed under a single boulder measuring 1,000 cubic metres and weighing 3,500 tonnes.

The bodies of two victims — I. Sivachandra Prasad (25), slotter operator from Nellore district and Vengala Venkatarao (28), plant supervisor from Prakasam district — were recovered.

Nine workers buried under the debris were identified as Muthuram Jaypaul (30) and Munuswamy Murugan (38) from Perumbakam, Vannur taluk, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, V. Manjunatha Reddy (32) from Kadapa district, Chunchu Sudhakar (28), Chimakurthi (all poclain operators), Adapa Sathibabu (23), ranger helper from East Godavari district, Yelagala Saidulu, water engine operator from Guntur district, Yelagala Kondalu, slotter operator from Guntur district, Kamatham Nageswara Rao (36), slotter operator from Khammam district, Malineni Srinivsarao (26), worker from Chimakurthi. One more worker is yet to be identified.

Andhra Pradesh Minister for Mines Balineni Srinivasa Reddy has ordered closure of all the mines at Chimakurthi for three days to complete the rescue operations. Speaking to newspersons here, Mr. Srinivasa Reddy said that a high power committee would be constituted with officials of mines, mine safety and labour to inspect all mines for safety norms. Mines not following safety norms would be closed.
Firm to pay Rs. 5 lakh

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Rajagopal said the accident was due to a shear zone in the rock. Secondly, the licencee was quarrying the stone vertically leaving no support for the sheer zone at the base. Thirdly, the accident happened in a buffer zone where no quarrying was permitted. Mr. Rajagopal has asked the Hamsa company to pay ex gratia of Rs. 5 lakh to the kin of each victim.