KURNOOL: Sand smuggling continues unabated in Kurnool district since the sand mafia enjoys the support of politicians.
The banks of the Kundu river near Nandyal have been denuded of sand by the sand mafia, allowing the river which floods frequently, to cause heavy damage to agricultural fields and road infrastructure in the Nandyal and Koilkuntla areas. The river is known as the ‘Sorrow of Nandyal’, but much of the damage it causes is man-made.
Pandurangapuram, close to the river, was once an ideal village. It had good roads, which the panchayat had laid in a manner that allowed access to the fertile fields. It was settled some 60 years ago by settlers from Guntur district to begin a new chapter in agricultural prosperity aided by the availability of water for irrigation. Avuthu Appi Reddy, a villager, said that they sold off their property in villages like Munnangi and Tenali and purchased land in this village. They came here on the invitation of then AP Chief Minister Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.
The prosperity was short lived. The villagers allege that ruling party leaders encouraged the sand mafia and the 40-tonne lorries that transported the sand dest-royed the roads and caused environmental havoc.
The government was forced to stop the sand auctions in the district due to legal and administrative challenges and no permission was supposed to be given to private persons to mine sand. The government issued orders to provide sand free of cost for house constructions to locals residing in proximity to the river. On the pretext of supplying sand to locals, the mafia has again started mining sand and transporting it to other areas. Besides, sand is also smuggled from rivulets of Vakkileru and Kundu.
Most of the illegal sand is transported to Hydera-bad, while some of it is used for the construction of buildings, houses and government projects in the district. The damage to the environment from indiscriminate sand extraction is huge.
With sand extraction crossing its limit and going deeper into the river bed, the official said ground water levels have fallen in villages along the river.
With no sand barrier to deter it, flood water inundates low lying areas alongside the river during the rainy season. The flood waters inundate whole villages causing widespread destruction and loss of life.
Despite some measures taken by the vigilance department and the revenue, mining and police departments, the illegal mining of sand continues as the smugglers are least bothered about the penalty.
Ruling party leaders from Nandyal are allegedly involved in the sand smuggling activity. It is learnt that sand from the Kundu river was excavated and taken to a place near Koilakuntla where the sand dump exists. Sand smuggled out of the Penna river near Jammalamadugu is also being brought to the dump at Koilakuntla.
A truck load of sand sells for between Rs 20,000 and Rs s25,000 depending on the demand. A tractor load of sand is sold for between Rs 3,000 and Rs 6,000.
The sand mafia is ruthless and works with impunity because it enjoys the patronage of mainstream political parties. It is common knowledge that politicians from both the TD and YSRCP are involved, though each accuses the other. Its attempts to kill members of the revenue department staff in the district in the past three years is proof of the brazenness with which this politically protected and highly destructive mafia functions.
