Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has instructed the officials to open all the sand reaches. The State government hopes to store 70 lakh tonnes of sand before the onset of monsoon, and hence hereafter, orders for sand can be booked at village secretariats from June 11.

During the Spandana meeting held in Amaravati on Tuesday, the Chief Minister directed district collectors to open all sand reaches and pile up enough stock before the onset of the monsoon.

There is a need to increase the mining of sand in Srikakulam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Kadapa and Nellore districts, and at least three lakh tonnes should be extracted, he said.

New sources should also be identified and reaches should be set up, Reddy said.

From June 11, people can book sand at village secretariats as well.

The joint collector should take full responsibility and the collectors should supervise the transactions.

People with smaller needs can draw sand from any source within 5 km, and the matter should be informed to the village secretariat, according to a release.