Chennai, May 18 (Reporter) The Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR) services to and from Mettupalayam and Udhagamandalam in the hilly Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu were cancelled on Saturday due to earth slip in view of rains. Met office has issued orange alert for the next two days and the district administration has advised tourists, who used to visit Ooty--the Queen of hill station--in large numbers, to avoid visiting the hill station. Though the tourist spots of Ooty, Kodaikanal and Yercaud are witnessing heavy footfalls in view of the summer vacation and due to the searing heat wave conditions, the crowd will increase during weekends. Since the the met office has issued an orange alert, District Collector Ms Aruna reviewed the preventive measures. Relief centres were opened and people lying in areas prone to heavy rains are being evacuated to relief centres. A contingent of State Disaster Response Force were also summoned and deployed in the district to meet any emergency. Meanwhile, Southern Railway said an earth slip has occurred between Kallar – Hillgrove railway stations of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Mud and boulders have fallen over the rail line, obstructing traffic. Hence, a train service of the NMR between Mettupalayam–Udagamandalam has been cancelled for the day. Similarly, the train on the return direction was also cancelled. Passengers of the cancelled train services are being given full refund of the ticket fare. Meanwhile, the met office has predicted heavy rains and issued red alert for the next two days in four southern districts of Kanniyakumari, Theni, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi in view of an upper air cyclonic circulation over the Comorin area. It also predicted formation of a Low Pressure area around May 22 over the Bay of Bengal which will bring intense rainfall in several parts of the State. People in several districts of the State, which had been reeling under scorching heat since March, heaved a sigh of relief, thanks to rains during the last few days which had considerably brought down the mercury level. Heavy rains lashed several parts, especially in the Western Ghats and interior districts of the state. This rain spell is likely to continue following the cyclonic circulation over South Tamil Nadu , which now lay centred over South Interior Tamil Nadu. Chennai too witnessed some rains bringing down the temperature for the last two days, though the showers stayed away today...////...