Extensive damage to crops reported after heavy rain, cyclone to lose intensity by today evening
Normal life was hit hard on Monday as heavy rain accompanied by high-velocity wind lashed Chhattisgarh across as a fallout of severe cyclone Hudhud that made its landfall on Sunday at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. People remained indoors and offices bore a deserted look as unabated rain-hit Chhattisgarh but State’s southern tip, Bastar region, was the worst sufferer as roads were flooded, trees uprooted and crops destroyed as per initial reports received.
Power supply at dozens of locations in sprawling Bastar region which is made up of seven districts and in Raipur, Gariaband and Mahasamund districts were disrupted as wind toppled trees which fell on electric poles. No loss to human life was reported from anywhere of the State till late Monday evening. Metrological department said in a latest bulletin that Hudhud would lose its intensity in Chhattisgarh by Tuesday evening.
Amid reports of extensive damage to crops, Chief Minister Raman Singh chaired an emergency meeting of senior officials in Raipur on Monday evening and asked the chief secretary Vivek Dhand to make a survey of damaged caused to crops by Hudhud in Chhattisgarh. Director General of Police AN Upadhyay too attended the meeting.
South East Central Railway, the highest profit making zone of Indian Railways, which has its headquarters in Bilaspur, was forced to cancel a few Andhra-bound key trains including 18212 Jagdalpur–Durg Express, 18517 Korba– Visakhapatnam Express, 18518 Visakhapatnam–Korba Express and 22848 lTT–Visakhapatnam Express.