Hyderabad: India's Environment Ministry has ordered suspension of construction work of a power plant in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, which is facing farmers' protest.
Two protesters died yesterday in what's been described as a violent police response against the farmers.
Earlier today, a bandh to condemn the firing evoked mixed response in the district.
"The situation in Srikakulam district and in and around the under construction power plant site in Kakarapalli and adjoining villages is peaceful and normal after yesterday's incident, even though, a bandh is being observed in the district," Srikakulam district Superintendent of Police K.V.V Gopala Rao told PTI over the phone.
Political parties and some organisations demanded compensation of Rs 20 lakh each to the family members of the deceased and also demanded withdrawal of all police forces from the plant site and villages.
Two persons were killed and five others sustained injuries, the SP said, adding 20 policemen also suffered injuries after villagers attacked them with stones and sticks.
"We have registered cases in connection with the attack on policemen, but no one has been arrested so far," Rao said.
Opposition party leaders including CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, CPI State secretary K Narayana and BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya visited Srikakulam district and condemned the police firing.
The leaders also visited the injured at a hospital in Srikakulam town and demanded a judicial probe into the incident even as state government has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the circumstances leading to police firing.
For over six months villagers around the plant have protested over continuance of the project, saying it would pollute the environment.
Seven policemen and four agitators were injured in a clash on February 25 when the police lifted the agitators who resorted to disrupting vehicular movement around Kakarapalli.
The protesters say the upcoming thermal power projects in Srikakulam would pose a big threat to the ecology and harm the livelihood of people who depended on agricultural activity.
In another development, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P. Sabita Reddy claimed that the police had fired only rubber bullets to disperse the mob protesting against the thermal power plant.
The Minister said that about 700 villagers (who were opposing the construction of the power plant) armed with sticks and rods surrounded the policemen at H.N. Peta (near Kakarapalli) and burnt a police vehicle and damaged another one.
The police had warned the mob to disperse but in vain, the Minister said adding the police on seeing the menacing crowd initially resorted to lathi-charge and fired pellets which did not deter the crowd. Later, the police fired rubber bullets in which one Jeeru Nageswara Rao died at the site while another person identified as Seerapu Yerraiah, who had received an injury on forearm, died at his home, Sabita said.
Police fired 34 plastic pellets and 17 rubber bullets on the agitators which also left five agitators injured besides ten policemen also got hurt during stone pelting, the Minister said.
The East Coast Energy Private Limited which is setting up the 2,640 MW coal-based thermal power plant at Kakarapalli village in Santhabommali mandal of Srikakulam district had obtained requisite permissions from the Central and State government for the proposed plant, Sabita Reddy said.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police K. Aravinda Rao has added that police fired only rubber bullets but that resulted in casualties as police fired from close range.