VISAKHAPATNAM: The bandh organised in the city and in the district in protest against the firing at Gangavaram village, in which one person was killed, passed off peacefully on Tuesday.

Tension prevailed at Gajuwaka and in the adjoining areas as activists of various organisations and political parties forced the traders to down their shutters. Medical shops were, however, exempted from the bandh. At some places, supporters of the bandh threatened to throw stones if the shops were not closed. Leaders and activists of various political parties barring the Congress converged near the Rajiv Gandhi statue at Old Gajuwaka junction and squatted on the road to prevent the movement of vehicles. Traffic came to a standstill for two hours on the National Highway no.5. However, the Congress did not lag behind in condemning the attack on the fishermen and expressed solidarity with the agitating fishermen.

`Rasta roko' staged

CPI(M) workers staged `rasta roko' at Jagadamba junction, Maddilapalem, Kancharapalem, Malkapuram, Gopalapatnam, Pendurthy, Madhurawada and Arilova areas in the city. "RTC buses were allowed to ply in view of students attending examinations,'' the party's district secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao said.

A `sava yatra' (rally with a corpse) was taken out by CPI(M) workers at Paderu, and five party workers were arrested at Chintapalli for enforcing the bandh.

Addressing the gathering at a `rasta roko' organised at Jagadamba junction, Rajya Sabha member P. Madhu (CPI(M) alleged that the State Government's dilly dallying on the issue had led to bloodshed and death of a fisherman. He said that the agitation would continue till justice was done to the fishermen.

Naidu calls on injured

Mr. Madhu and Mr. Narasinga Rao visited the injured fishermen at the King George Hospital. At Jagadamba junction, Telugu Desam Party candidate for Visakhapatnam-I Assembly by-poll S.A. Rehaman joined them. Later, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu also called on the injured at KGH.

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