All 32 flights operating from Vizag Airport cancelled due to Cyclone 'Montha'
Amaravati (PTI): All flights, 32 in total, operating out of Visakhapatnam Airport were cancelled on Tuesday owing to the severe cyclonic storm 'Montha', said an official.
Visakhapatnam Airport Director N Purushottam said two Air India Express flights were cancelled on October 27.
"Actually, we are operating 30 to 32 movements (flights) daily, domestic as well as international. Today, all those flights are cancelled," Purushottam told PTI.
Other than the two cancelled Air India Express flights on Monday, he said the rest of the 30 flights had operated on October 27.
Further, he said the airport has taken precautions to shield it from the severe cyclonic storm as per the Airports Authority of India (AAI) guidelines, covering pre-cyclone and post-cyclone phases.
Likewise, Vijayawada Airport has cancelled 16 flights today, but managed to operate five flights.
"Yesterday (Monday) there was only one flight cancellation to Vizag. But today, 16 flights were cancelled to various destinations, including Delhi, Mumbai, across the country," said Vijayawada Airport Director Lakshmikanth Reddy.
According to Reddy, the airlines have taken a decision to suspend operations for today, adding that clarity could emerge by evening about tomorrow's flight operations.
Similarly, four flights were cancelled in Tirupati Airport.
Meanwhile, 120 trains were cancelled in total on October 27 and Tuesday across the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone, said a railway official.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
ALSO READ: Why remove Mahatma Gandhi's name, asks Priyanka on move to replace MGNREGA
The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
