Majority of workers' suicides due to personal reasons, TDP running false campaign: AP govt

The YSRCP-led Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday accused the opposition TDP of launching a "false and malicious" campaign that construction workers were committing suicide in large numbers in the state, and asserted that majority of such deaths had happened due to "personal reasons".

The state government also said there was an "artificial scarcity of sand" in the state due to illegal hoarding by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders and functionaries.

But leader of opposition N Chandrababu Naidu and others are defaming the government on "flimsy grounds" and are indulging in "mud-slinging" on every issue, it added.

The state government assured that abundant quantity of sand would be made available to the construction sector in a short period as rains are receding of late.

Recently, several labourers have committed suicide due to joblessness in the construction sector because of distress on account of non-availability of sand.

"Majority of the suicides were due to personal reasons, but the deliberate mud-slinging is continuing and it looks like the intention is nothing but to malign the image of the state government," an official statement said.

There is "no truth" in the negative campaign being launched by the TDP that lakhs of construction labourers have been rendered jobless, it said.

Stating that sand mining has not been undertaken because of overflowing rivers, the state government said that out of the 267 available sand reaches in the state, presently mining is possible only in 62 reaches.

With rivers flowing incessantly in the state, there is no possibility of sand mining from the river beds.

"Under such circumstances, is it possible to provide adequate quantity of sand to the construction sector?" the state government said and accused the TDP leaders of illegal hoarding that had led to an artificial scarcity.

In a bid to provide employment to labourers, Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has directed officials to use only manual labour for sand mining and not to use machinery.

The chief minister also ordered stringent action against sand smugglers and those indulging in irregularities, the statement added.