CPI leader wants CM to rein in sand

Alleging that a "sand mafia" was at work in Tamil Nadu, CPI general secretary AB Bardhan on Wednesday appealed to chief minister M Karunanidhi to save the river Tamaraparani from disappearance due to unabated sand mining on its bed.

The CM should be more concerned. I am afraid the river will vanish if the sand mafia is let loose," Bardhan told reporters here. Bemoaning the state of the river now, he recalled that former CPI state secretary R Nallakannu had appeared before the Madras high court to draw attention to unabated quarrying of sand on the river

The CPI leader rejected Karunanidhi's charge that opposition-backed trade unions had instigated the flash strike by city's bus drivers and conductors two days ago. "The protest was spontaneous. The chief minsiter fails to see the facts," he said.

CPI state secretary D Pandian said the party was persisting with its efforts to bring together an array of political parties to take on the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu. Answering a question on whether his party was trying to rope in actor Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in their opposition grouping, Pandian said, "We will coordinate all parties against the DMK-Congress front as well as the BJP."