Telugu Desam Party(TDP) leaders staged Isuka Satyagraha Deekshalu across the State on Monday seeking to expose the illegal sand mining being done allegedly with the support of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Leaders of the main opposition party squatted at 44 major sand quarries amidst a crackdown by the police, whom they accused of scuttling the democratic protests.
According to a party release, a total of 67 quarries were identified where the sand mining norms were being blatantly violated and protests were held at 44 places in response to a call given by the party president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who alleged a couple of days ago that the illegal sand mining scandal was worth about ₹40,000 crore and it has the backing of none other than Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The press release said scores of party leaders were arrested to suppress the agitation launched to highlight the plundering of the precious natural resource and its adverse impact on the livelihood of lakhs of construction workers and a huge number of others dependent on 125 related trades.
The party leaders said the government has no answers for the questions posed by Mr. Naidu, who set a 48-hour deadline. As expected, the police were used to detain the agitators in order to cover up the major scandal, they said.