Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary Nara Lokesh has alleged that the State government’s new sand policy was responsible for the misery and suicides of construction workers. Also, the construction industry has collapsed in the State due to the lopsided policy.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday, Mr. Lokesh deplored that the problems of construction workers began ever since the YSR Congress Party came to power. The government created a severe crisis in the name of a new sand policy. Four precious months were wasted and it led to the suicides of over 60 construction workers, he alleged.

“The new policy has crippled the construction industry, while the ruling YSRCP leaders have amassed hundreds of crores of illegal money taking advantage of the new sand regulations,” he alleged, adding, “The best example of YSRCP sand mafia was how loose soil was supplied instead of sand for the house construction of a ruling party Minister himself in East Godavari district recently.”

Mr. Lokesh said that the YSRCP leaders were perpetrating their sand mafia activities under the cover of stockyards. The officials were hand-in-glove with the ruling party leaders in the daylight plundering. The government made tall claims that it would not tolerate sand mafia activities, but did not take action for reasons well known to all, he said.

The TDP MLC recalled how Kerala was creating all facilities to rescue construction workers there from Coronavirus impact. Whereas, in Andhra Pradesh, the workers were given just the Central assistance while the State Government had not given a single rupee. The Andhra Pradesh government should immediately form a welfare board with the workers’ leaders. It should also release a White Paper on the cess collections made from the workers, he added.