PM Modi cancels Vizag visit amid AP heavy rainfall alert

Visakhapatnam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Visakhapatnam on November 29 (Friday) has been cancelled, due to heavy rainfall alert in parts of Andhra Pradesh from November 26-28.

Sources from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) said the event has been postponed. Another date for the foundation laying ceremony will be decided soon.

As per the tentative schedule, PM Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for India’s largest green hydrogen hub and virtually inaugurate some other projects during his visit to Visakhapatnam on November 29. The foundation laying ceremony was scheduled to be done virtually from the Andhra University Engineering Grounds.

The green hydrogen hub project, spearheaded by NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) will be developed at Pudimadaka in Atchutapuram mandal of Anakapalle district. Spread over 1,600 acres, this ambitious initiative will turn Andhra Pradesh into a green energy powerhouse, making India a global leader in green hydrogen production. The project will create 25,000 jobs.

Four days of rain for Andhra Pradesh from November 26

India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday forecast four days of heavy rainfall in parts of Andhra Pradesh from November 26 to 29, owing to the influence of a depression in the Bay of Bengal. The Met Department predicted heavy rainfall in parts of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh (SCAP) and Rayalaseema from Tuesday to Friday, which will also extend to North Coastal Andhra Pradesh (NCAP) and Yanam on November 29.

“Yesterday’s (Sunday) well-marked low-pressure area over central parts of the south Bay of Bengal and adjoining east equatorial Indian ocean moved west to north-westwards and intensified into a depression,” said the Met Department in a release.

Around 8:30 am on Monday, the weather system lay centred over central parts of the south Bay of Bengal and adjoining east equatorial Indian Ocean, 880 km southeast of Nagapattinam, 980 km southeast of Puducherry and 1,050 km south to southeast of Chennai. It is likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a deep depression during the next 24 hours.

Thereafter, it is likely to continue to move northwestwards towards the Tamil Nadu-Sri Lanka coast during the subsequent two days, the Met Department said.

Besides heavy rain, it also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning in isolated places across the state from November 27 to 29 and limited to SCAP and Rayalaseema on Tuesday.