Hyderabad, March 6 :    Hyderabad, March 6:  The body of Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, was cremated this afternoon at Amalapuram, his native town, in east Godavari district. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Opposition leader Sonia Gandhi were among those who attended the funeral. The funeral procession started from the college grounds, where the body had been kept since Monday amid tight security. Traffic was brought to a halt on the national highway, about 20 km away from the cremation ground. All roads leading to Amalapuram via Ravulapalem and Kakinada were blocked for the three hours that Vajpayee and Sonia spent at the funeral. The Coast Guard, too, kept vigil on the 130 km coast between Kakinada and Machilipatnam. Balayogi's body was kept for three days to make appropriate security arrangements in view of terrorist threats to the country. The Prime Minister avoided going to Hyderabad, a known centre for ISI activities, and instead chose to land at Visakhapatnam. He drove down to Amalapuram after a short helicopter ride to Rajahmundhry. Harish, the late Speaker's eldest son, lit the pyre while priests chanted vedic hymns. Nearly seven lakh people had gathered at Amalapuram to pay their last respects to the leader. The pyre was lit to a 48-gun salute.