Illegal bauxite mining is rampant in Agency with YSRCP leaders' support

Mangalgiri: Former Minister and TDP leader Nakka Anand Babu on Wednesday asserted that the bauxite mafia gang was carrying out illegal mining activities in the scheduled areas of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari with active support from the ruling YSRCP key leaders as well as the officials of all the departments concerned.

Anand Babu warned that not just the ruling party leaders, but the officials concerned will have to face stringent punishment in the illegal mining in the tribal areas.

Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leader said that everyone involved in the illegal mining in Visakha agency will have to stand in the court in future. He said that the forest and environment protection officials have become spectators while looting is being done with the support of the YSRCP leaders. He alleged that illegal mining of bauxite was carried out by Lavkumar Reddy, who was a friend of TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy's son.

When the TDP leaders try to expose the illegal mining, the ruling party was using the police to threaten and terrify them with false cases and arrests.

Anand Babu said that when TDP team tried to hold a press conference to tell the public about the unlawful mining in the scheduled area, the police threatened to file cases and disrupted their press conference.

He deplored that a wide road was laid in the forests with heavy machineries by using NREGS funds. However, the forest and environmental protection officials were not taking any action.