Security beefed up on Andhra-Odisha border after bandh call

Visakhapatnam: Security in the agency areas of the district has been beefed up after a bandh called by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) on the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) today to protest against anti-people's activities of the state and central governments, police said here.

Visakhapatnam District Superintendent of Police Koya Praveen told that the situation was peaceful in eleven mandals of the district's agency area. He said all shops and business establishments in the mandal headquarters remained open. Buses and other two-wheelers in the agency area plied as usualeven in remote areas.

Though the Maoists left pamphlets in some areas asking the girijans (tribals) to support the bandh, there was no response, the SP said. He saidthat in view of the bandh, security was tightened in sensitive areas under G K Veedhi, Chintapalle, G Madugula, Koyyuru and other Maoist strongholds. Besides deploying additional police and paramilitary forces at all strategic places, combing operations and patrolling was intensified to prevent entry of Maoists from neighbouring Odisha, he said.

Vishakhapatnam district has two distinct geographic divisions -- the plains and the agency. Plains division is basically the strip of land along the coast and the interior, while the hilly area of the Eastern Ghats flanking the plains division on the north and west is called the agency area.