Construction activity in Anantapur has come to a halt, affecting the second largest source of employment in the district, thanks to the new sand mining policy.
The administration has opened up three sand reaches concentrated towards the north-eastern part of the district. Coupled with this the GO that irrespective of the size of the construction, sand should be bought from the DWCRA groups enlisted to manage these sand reaches by paying online through the internet or 'e-seva' and 'mee- seva' centres.
As a result, sand prices have increased by over 100 per cent from Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,500 per tractor-load in the district headquarters, 45 km away from the nearest sand reach, while the same has soared beyond estimate, preventing people completely from buying sand . “AT present, there is no sand reach in Kadiri revenue division. Even the government sponsored Indiramma housing has suffered a setback for want of sand. We hope to start a new reach soon to cater to the demand,” said the Kadiri RDO Rajasekhar.
A similar situation exists in Penukonda and Kalyandurgam revenue divisions where there are no sand reaches . “It costs nothing less than Rs 9,000 for a tractor load of sand as against the Rs 1,500 I used to pay earlier. I have stopped the construction of my house,” said M Narayana Reddy of the Talupula mandal headquarters, 100 km away from the nearest sand reach. “While police are not allowing a single tractor, several tippers are carrying sand illegally to neighbouring districts of Karnataka and Bengaluru, fetching nearly Rs 1 lakh per load,”alleged YSRC legislator Y Viswesvar Reddy.
Meanwhile, the construction workers and contractors have been protesting for the past few days seeking not deprive them of their only source of livelihood. “There is no employment in my village now. Neither 100 days work (NREGS) nor farm works. The only option for me is to go to Anantapur for construction works or migrate to Bengaluru,” says Narsappa of the Taticherla village.
