VIJAYAWADA: In a bid to expose the alleged unchecked mining in the reserve forest area at Vanthada village of Prathipadu mandal in East Godavari district, Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan along with his party leaders visited the village on Sunday. He alleged that the mining was denying revenue to the State government and at the same time damaging the environment in the region.
Kalyan interacted with local people to know the ground reality and his entire visit was telecast live on his Facebook page on Sunday evening. Shooting the mining area with his mobile phone, the Jana Sena chief said the purpose of his visit was to expose the unchecked mining in the area flouting rules, which is destroying green cover on the hillock.
Pointing out the mining equipment and absence of workers, he observed that the mining activity was stopped after being alerted of his visit. “In the name of laterite mining, bauxite is being mined here,” he said. It is not just politicians belonging to the ruling party, those belong to the Opposition are also involved in the exploitation of natural resources in the area, the actor-turned-politician observed.
Kalyan said another purpose of his visit to Vanthada mines was to identify the effects of mining so that his party can come out with a responsible mining policy which would not only bring good revenue to the State but also put a check on damage to green cover.
In an interaction with one of the locals, the Jana Sena chief was told that mining was started in the area, which happens to be in a reserve forest, during YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime. At that time, 100 trucks used to be operated in transporting mineral out of the mines. Later, Chandrababu Naidu has visited the mines before becoming the Chief Minister and stressed the need to put an end to it. However, today, 200 trucks are transporting the mineral out of the mines. It was also noticed that royalty that was due to the government was not cleared till date.