Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed his dissatisfaction with the illegal mining of sand in Chirala constituency and instructed officials to investigate the matter. He directed them to take stringent action against those responsible and emphasized that no one should be spared if they were tarnishing the government’s reputation through illegal sand exploration and transportation. Naidu had previously instructed ministers and party legislators to avoid involvement in illegal activities, including sand exploration. In response to the complaints received at the party’s state office, Naidu instructed senior officials to address the issue promptly. The Bapatla district collector, JV Murali, directed the Chirala RDO and DSP to provide a comprehensive report on the illegal sand mining at Ipurupalem straight cut, a major drain. Locals had reportedly approached the public grievance cell at the TDP state office in Mangalagiri with complaints about large-scale illegal mining. They had submitted video and photo evidence to support their allegations, stating that sand mining was being conducted without permission in Chirala, Vetapalem, and Ipurupalem mandals within the Chirala constituency. The locals alleged that sand was being sold at Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per tractor, despite the government-fixed price of Rs 3,000 per trip. They also noted that the price of sand had been lower during the previous administration. Nagarjuna, a local social activist, complained that sand operators were not issuing receipts despite collecting large sums of money and that local ruling party leaders were profiting significantly from the sand sales. He further alleged that a prominent leader of the ruling party had acquired nearly 50 JCBs for sand operations in the constituency and had instructed all private operators to conduct exploration, transportation, and sales exclusively through his team. The leader reportedly demanded that private operators either employ his workers and machines or leave the constituency. Tractor and lorry operators who wished to register in the district mines portal were allegedly threatened with large payments to the influential leader, with tractor operators being asked to pay Rs 20,000 per month, lorry operators Rs 50,000 per month, and even bullock cart operators Rs 10,000 per month. A TDP leader confirmed that no vehicle not listed in the influential leader’s records was being permitted to operate.