Residents of villages along the Sunnapalli coast in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district woke up to a surprise on Tuesday, May 10, as a gold-painted chariot washed up on the shore. The chariot seems to have washed up from Thailand or Myanmar, and fishermen and officials suspect this has happened due to the high tidal waves caused by Cyclone Asani.
Visuals of the incident show the chariot structure floating to the shore, amid the rough waves of the Bay of Bengal. With the help of local fishermen, ropes were tied around it and brought to shore for further examination. Several residents from surrounding villages had gathered at the beach to witness the chariot float onto the shore. It is suspected that the structure may belong to a monastery from a southeast Asian country close to the Andaman Sea like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia. A case has been registered and further investigation into where the structure came from is underway.
While many believe the chariot to be from a foreign temple, Santabommali district officials told The Times of India that its origins may not be from foreign soil, but more local than that. Tehsildar J Chalamayya told TOI that it may have been used as a prop for shooting a film along the east Indian coast, and may have washed up at Srikakulam due to the effect of Cyclone Asani.
In an effect of #CycloneAsani, a gold-painted chariot has washed to the shores of Srikakulam district in Andhra. The golden chariot may belong to a monastery from a country close to the Andaman sea like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia.#AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/NuckRgQrsv
— TheNewsMinute (@thenewsminute) May 11, 2022
Andhra has been reeling under heavy rains due to the cyclone for the past few days. On Tuesday, May 10, coastal Andhra Pradesh was put on alert in view of the severe cyclonic storm. Heavy to very heavy rains are likely in Krishna, Guntur, Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts. The coastal region is likely to experience gusty winds with 75-95 kmph speed. In the district that are likely to be affected, the administrations have set up control rooms. People in coastal and low-lying areas have been alerted.
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