Andhra Pradesh Floods: Chandrababu Naidu Narrowly Escapes As Train Crosses Over Flooded River

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had a narrow escape during his visit to flood-affected areas in the state on Thursdaay. The incident took place when a train passed just a few feet away from Naidu while he was standing on a bridge beside a railway track.

Naidu was inspecting the damage caused by the recent floods and assessing relief efforts when the close call happened. Eyewitnesses reported that the train's proximity to the Chief Minister was alarmingly close, creating a tense moment for those present.

Authorities are investigating how such a dangerous situation came to be, given the high-profile nature of Naidu’s visit. The Chief Minister was reportedly unharmed and continued his tour of the affected areas, focusing on the ongoing relief and recovery operations.

Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial team from the Central government began its visit of the flood-affected districts in Andhra Pradesh. The team headed by Sanjeev Kumar Jindal visited Vijayawada, the worst affected place, to estimate the losses and destruction, said an official press release.

The Central team visited the State Emergency Operations Centre in the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) office in Tadepalli, where officials explained about the torrential rains and floods.

Later, the officials also visited Prakasam Barrage, which was recently hit by three large drifting boats, damaging a concrete beam.

As the flood waters began to recede at many places here, personnel of the Vijayawada civic body are busily engaged in sanitation work and also restoring water supply, an official said on Thursday.

However, Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner HM Dhyanachandra said people must refrain from drinking the restored municipal tap water at the moment as it was not in a potable.

"Today, we are focusing on municipal water resumption and sanitation. By today evening, the water supply will be restored. But they (people) cannot drink water because there will be a lot of silting," Dhyanachandra told PTI.

He said the civic body will launch a campaign to dissuade people from drinking tap water.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said water supplied by the municipality should not be used for the first two days at least as it has to be tested for quality, considering its muddied nature due to the unprecedented deluge.

He said the authorities will inform people after carrying out tests but hinted that it 'could' be used for bathing purposes.

Drinking water is also being supplied to the flood-hit areas through water tankers and several people were seen collecting it in containers. Around 200 tankers are supplying drinking water.