Modi's visit to Varanasi postponed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Tuesday has been postponed, informed sources said.

Modi was expected to discuss the plan of adopting a village from his constituency under the MP Model Village Scheme during his visit to Varanasi.

The visit has apparently been postponed due to cyclonic storm 'Hudhud' that hit the Andhra Pradesh coast Sunday.

Modi, who had Saturday chaired an emergency high-level meeting to review the preparedness for cyclone, Sunday spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and was briefed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth about the situation.

The cyclonic storm triggered heavy rains and strong gales, which wrecked havoc in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rain in eight districts of Odisha and said rain would likely continue till mid-week.

Apart from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, heavy rainfall is expected in Chhattisgarh, eastern Madhya Pradesh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Telangana.