Traditional fishermen from Bheemunipatnam staged a demonstration near the Gandhiji statue, opposite GVMC main office here, on Saturday, opposing the proposal to merge Bheemunipatnam municipality with GVMC.
General secretary of the Bheemli mandal unit of Sampradaya Matsyakarula Sangham M. Danayya said most of the panchayats adjacent to Visakhapatnam merged in the past were not developed while taxes were hiked.
Meanwhile a few hundreds of people under the banner of “development-seeking people of Bheemli” took out a rally in the historic town and submitted a memorandum to the Municipal Commissioner seeking merger of town with GVMC. Youth would benefit and fishermen’s livelihood would not change, they claimed. They also claimed that taxes would not be more but there would be development as the town’s municipality was starved of funds. Industrial and commercial activity, which has come to a standstill in the town, can be revived through merger and tourism projects. Port and fishermen jetty also could become a reality, supporters of the merger said.
