Anakapalli: In the wake of the cyclone Montha, Anakapalli district police have temporarily suspended all types of vehicular traffic along the national highway-16 from 7 pm on Tuesday night to prevent cyclone Montha-induced risk.

Keeping safety of the people in view, the decision was made towards this direction and the restrictions will continue until further orders, informed Anakapalli District Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha.

He advised the motorists to park their vehicles in safe zones during the cyclone. The SP informed that the government issued orders to temporarily suspend vehicular movement in 17 cyclone-affected districts.

He mentioned that the decision was taken in the wake of the meteorological department’s warnings that heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds were to be witnessed as the cyclone crosses the AP coast by Tuesday night.

The District SP appealed to the people to stay safe at home and not to travel at night except for emergency needs.

The SP visited the cyclone-affected areas and monitored the rehabilitation and relief efforts.

He visited the Sarada bridge on the outskirts of Venkupalem village as well as the surrounding areas of Kunchangi villages to assess the impact of the cyclone.

Later, he spoke to the local villagers and asked about the problems they faced during the other cyclones and preparations made this time.

The SP instructed the officials that steps should be taken to provide adequate food, water and medical facilities to the people at the rehabilitation centres. Officers at the field level should be ready at all times on behalf of the police department, he added.

Everyone should work in coordination with one another to ensure that there is no loss of life, Tuhin Sinha asserted. Special Branch Inspector Bala Surya Rao, Anakapalli Rural Circle Inspector G Ashok Kumar, Traffic Inspector Venkat Narayana, Town Inspector Prem Kumar, Rural SI G Ravi Kumar were present.