Storm snaps coastal Andhra's mobile phone link

Hyderabad, May 20 : Heavy rains and strong gales due to the severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal snapped mobile phone communication in several parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh Thursday.Except state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the networks of all other mobile service providers were not working in the affected districts, adding to the anxiety among the people. People in other parts of the state and outside, who have their relative and friends in the coastal region, were worried after not being able to get through to their near and dear ones. Officials said heavy gales with speed reaching up to 75 km per hour uprooted cell phone towers and damaged other communication equipment, especially in Prakasam, Guntur, Nellore, Krishna, and East and West Godavari districts. As electricity supply to 11 towns and nearly 1,500 villages in the six districts was snapped, those having BSNL mobile phone connections also could not be reached after the batteries of their cell-phones ran out as they could not be recharged. Anticipating damage to landline and mobile communication, district authorities have arranged ham radio network and satellite phones for effective communication during rescue and relief works.
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