Cyclone Asani: Temple-type structure washes ashore Andhra coast

People preparing for impact of cyclone Asani along the Sunnapalli coast in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh were surprised when a gold-coloured structure resembling a portion of a temple washed ashore. Notwithstanding the choppy seas, some villagers jumped into the sea to drag the structure to the shore using ropes.

The structure has sparked off a frenzy with villagers from nearly localities coming to catch a glimpse. Afterall, it is not every day that a religious object ends up on the coastline. According to reports, the structure resembles the temple architecture seen in southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia.

It is unclear how the object ended up in the sea and eventually at the Andhra coast. Local fishermen said that the structure may have been dragged in under the impact of the cyclone. Local administration officials, however, downplayed the incident and said that the object may have been used a prop at a movie set somewhere along the eastern seaboard and could have drifted to Sunnapalli coast due to high tidal activity.

Cyclone update

The India Meteorological Department has forecast that the severe cyclonic storm will move northwest and close to the Kakinada-Visakhapatnam coast on Wednesday. Fishermen have been warned not to go venture into the sea till May 12 due to high tidal activity. The  cyclone is then likely to weaken and change direction, moving north-northeast to the northwestern Bay of Bengal. The weather department has said that the storm could weaken in the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, the meteorological department officials have issued a red alert for the Guntur and Krishna districts.