Vijayawada: YSR Congress national media adviser Devulapalli Amar alleged that the Opposition Telugu Desam had launched a malicious campaign against the YSR Congress on the issue of sand availability. Refuting allegations about construction workers committing suicide, he claimed that a majority of the incidents were due to personal reasons.
Mr Amar said that TD and other Opposition parties had defamed the government and used the issue for their political gains. The ground realities were completely different, he said.
He explained that people migrate to the cities in search of livelihood and are forced to become construction labourers. The usual practice is for small and marginal farmers from drought-prone areas like Anantapur, Prakasam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts migrate to cities and become construction workers.
Mr Amar said farmers had migrated to Karna-taka and Kerala in search of livelihood during the Chandrababu Naidu regime, a majority from Rayalaseema and north coastal Andhra districts.
He claimed that drought-prone and backward districts like Anantapur, Prakasam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts have received copious rains. He claimed that as a result of heavy rains during this season, migration of small and marginal farmers has stopped, rekindling their hopes in farming.
He said the YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme (financial aid to farmers depending on the size of their landholdings) came to the rescue of small and marginal farmers, who wished to resume farming instead of migrating to cities and towns in search of livelihood.
Mr Amar maintained that a crucial aspect is that all the reservoirs in Andhra Pradesh are filled with water to the brim and the rivers are flowing from end to end. He stated that with rivers flowing incessantly, there is no possibility of mining sand. He said sand can be mined if the rivers stop flowing and sand dunes emerge.
It is not only useless but life-threatening to attempt to mine sand from flowing rivers. Mr Amar stated that of the 267 sand reaches, mining was possible only in 62. “Under such circumstances, is it possible to provide an adequate quantity of sand to the construction sector,” Mr Amar asked.
He said raids were being mounted on illegal sand reaches by the vigilance department. Lakhs of tones of sand was allegedly mined illegally and hoarded by TD leaders from village to state level, including by MLAs, former MLAs and important functionaries.
Mr Amar said illegal hoarding of sand had led to artificial scarcity. There is no truth in the negative campaign being launched by the TD that lakhs of construction labourers are rendered jobless, he said.
He insisted that there was no truth in the campaign being launched by the Opposition leaders that construction labourers are committing suicide in large numbers. He claimed that the majority of the suicides were due to personal reasons, but the deliberate mudslinging is continuing and it looks like the intention is nothing but to malign the image of the state government.
Mr Amar said that like never in the past, the Srisailam dam flood gates were opened about ten times this season alone. The Krishna and Godavari rivers and their tributaries are overflowing.
He said that Mr Naidu is extending support to Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan’s protest march at Visakhapatnam. He alleged that Mr Kalyan did not plan it on the banks of Krishna, Godavari or Vamshadhara as he would be forced to see himself the overflowing rivers.
Mr Amar alleged that Mr Kalyan who is busy targeting the Jagan Mohan Reddy government from day one, did not take up any protest programme during the five years of Mr Naidu’s tenure. He claimed that while Mr Reddy was in the Opposition, Mr Kalyan had targeted him. Now that Mr Reddy is in power, Mr Kalyan is slinging mud at him.
