Visakhapatnam Railway Station shut, high alert sounded around Agnipath protests

The Agnipath military recruitment scheme has caused widespread protests across the country. Railway and bus stations in some parts of the country have been vandalised. Following the same, the Railway authorities closed the Visakhapatnam Railway Station this morning. Security has been beefed up across all the railway stations in Andhra Pradesh.

Precautionary measures have been taken up by the state government to prevent protests against the central government’s Agnipath military recruitment scheme. According to the officials, intelligence alerts have notified that the army spirants have planned major protests, and hence they had to close down the Visakhapatnam Railway Station at 7 am this morning. The station will remain closed till afternoon. 800 Railway Protection Force (RPF) and 500 Government Railway Police (GRP) and local police have been stationed in all 115 railway stations in Andhra Pradesh.

All trains from Vijaywada have been diverted to Duvvada Railway Station, and trains coming from Howrah have been diverted to Kothavalasa. High alert has been declared in Guntur Railway Station as intel suggests protests in the area.

The Agnipath Military Recruitment Scheme was announced by the government on Tuesday. The scheme entails a recruitment process for individuals below the rank of officer. The goal of the scheme is to deploy young and fit troops for front lines, who will be recruited on a four-year contract. The scheme was devised to give the Navy, Army, and Airforce a young look. Men and women between the age group of 17.5 and 21 will be eligible to apply for the scheme.

Many army aspirants are unhappy with the new scheme as it does not promise any pension for those released early and the age cap makes them ineligible to apply. Therefore they have been protesting against the scheme for the past 4 days.

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