CAUGHT IN A SANDSTORM

THE TDP CLAIMS THAT UNDER YSRCP RULE, SAND MAFIA HAS EARNED NEARLY Rs 40,000 CRORE THROUGH ILLEGAL MINING IN THE STATE

- Amarnath K. Menon

With the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls less than a year away, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has stepped up his attacks on the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP). The latest in that series of volleys is an alleged sand mining scam, an issue that keeps rearing its ugly head every few years in the state. Naidu has alleged that under the tacit support of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the sand mafia in the state has earned a whopping Rs 40,000 crore through illegal mining. On August 28, three days after Naidu claimed that he had evidence to support his claim, his party workers staged a statewide protest and identified 67 quarries where norms were being violated. The demonstrations eventually led to as many as 11 FIRs and over a hundred TDP leaders and cadres getting booked.