BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana alleged that the prevailing sand scarcity was an artificial one created by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and questioned what prevent the storage of the mineral when there were no floods.
Mr. Lakshminarayana expressed concern that those raising their voice against the government’s failures were being attacked by the YSR Congress (YSRCP) workers and SC/ST atrocity cases booked to intimidate them.
He demanded that the government should pay an ex gratia of ₹25 lakh each to the kin of construction workers who committed suicide and ₹10,000 per month as compensation for the loss of livelihood.
Addressing party activists and construction workers at ‘Isuka Satyagraham’ organised by Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Morcha (BJMM) here on Monday, Mr. Lakshminarayana said he had been warning Mr. Jagan of the sand problem since June but he was careless about it and wondered what was the problem in Rayalaseema where there were no floods.
The State BJP chief said if floods in major rivers have indeed obstructed sand mining, the government could have adopted the dredging method to ease the crisis instead of giving lame excuses.
It was due to the intention to sell sand outside the State that curbs were imposed on its mining in the name of the new policy, he stated.
‘Retrograde measures’
Former Minister Pydikondala Manikyala Rao alleged that sand was finding its way into markets in cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad as the government turned a blind eye to it while asserting that everything was going on in a transparent manner.
Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha national in-charge Daggubati Purandeswari said the State was going backward due to the retrograde measures of the government, like the review of power purchase agreements, reverse tendering and its failure to ensure smooth supply of sand at affordables rates if not free of cost.
Former Ministers Kamineni Srinivas and Ravela Kishore Babu, former MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, Vijayawada Parliamentary constituency party convener Kilaru Dileep and BJMM State president M.B.B. Naidu were among those present.
