Ex-CM Naidu writes to Chief Minister Jagan on illegal sand mining

VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam national president Nara Chandrababu Naidu has written a letter to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, protesting against police excesses on Dalits who objected to illegal sand mining by ruling YSRC leaders at Chinchinada in Yelamanchili mandal of West Godavari district.

Naidu underlined in the letter that members of Dalit community in Chinchinada have been earning their livelihood for past 40 years by cultivating lands assigned to them in 1983 at Yenuguvanilanka village. Of late, ruling YSRC leaders including Mudunuri Prasad Raju, MLA, and Kavuru Srinivas, MLC, have been illegally mining sand from Yenuguvanilanka using their henchmen and smuggling the same to other places.

The TD chief said Dalits of Chinchinada have been peacefully protesting against this illegal mining. However, shockingly, police have used excessive force while lathicharging and arresting the protesting Dalits, he stated.

The former chief minister said, “As head of the government in Andhra Pradesh, you are liable to answer questions about the need for police to use lathicharge against the peaceful Dalit protestors, illegally detain the protesting Dalits, admit the injured victims to a hospital 70 km away from the place of incident, despite other government hospitals being available nearby; and police not taking statements from the injured victims as per the medico-legal case norms.”

“Why is the government allowing digging of soil in spite of its illegality and why is it trying to protect the culprits,” the TDP chief asked.

He demanded stern action against police officials who abused and injured the Dalits. He wanted the government to stop the illegal sand mining, so that the environment in the region could be protected.