The Bharat Bandh call given by a few political parties and organisations in protest against the Union Government’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment into the armed forces, evoked no response in Visakhapatnam city and in the district, on Monday.
APSRTC buses and trains ran as usual and on schedule. There were no untoward incidents in the railway station or in any other place in the city. But the authorities concerned continued to maintain the deployment of security forces at the railway station and at all vital installations as a precautionary measure.
Schools and colleges functioned normally and shops and establishments were open since morning.
Rally foiled
The youth wings of the Left parties such as SFI and AISF tried to take out a rally from Maddilapalem, but the police who were present in considerable numbers did not allow that to happen.
About eight members were arrested and taken to MVP Police Station, said CPI (M) urban president Ganga Rao.
The student leaders were arrested even before they could take out the rally, he said. They were released later in the evening.
The Left parties have been vehemently opposing the move and at a meeting on Monday, CPI(M) State Secretariat Member Ch. Narasinga Rao said that the youth of the nation is being cheated with this scheme. “The security of the nation is being compromised by employing youth under contract basis for four years. They will not have any commitment under a short-term contractual role,” he said.
Tight security
The heightened security level at all vital installations and at the railway station will continue for some more time, till normalcy is restored across the country. All security agencies such as the Civil Police, Armed Reserve, Government Railway Police, Railway Protection Force and CRPF, are on high alert and have been deployed at key locations, said a senior police officer.
