(Image source from: Thehansindia.com)

Sand Scarcity Continues to Claim Lives in Andhra Pradesh:- Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a huge slump in the construction industry due to the huge scarcity of sand in the state. This already claimed several lives in the state and recently three people killed themselves in and around the state's capital Amaravati in Guntur district. Three workers committed suicide after they were depressed of being unemployed from the past four months. A selfie video of one of the deceased, Polepalli Venkatesh, came out after his death. Venkatesh worked as a plumber in Gorantla.

Naga Brahmaji of Tenali and Venkata Rao of Mangalagiri also ended their lives recently. Andhra Pradesh government wanted to change sand mining and sale practises in the state which hit the construction industry badly. Also, the construction works in Amaravati too were kept on hold because of which hundreds of people were left jobless. The High Court recently asked the government to reveal their stand on the construction of the capital. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy introduced a new sand policy saying that sand will be supplied at low cost. But, the mining came to a standstill after which the construction industry was badly hit.

Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said that they are exploring alternative ways to come out of the crisis. Opposition leader Chandra Babu Naidu accused YS Jagan for pushing lakhs of construction workers into depression. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan expressed shock over the tragic end of three labourers. He wanted the Centre to intervene in the issue.