River sand mining emerged as a major source of funds for political parties in Tamil Nadu, and has played a role in the increasing amount of money used during electoral campaigning in the state. The larger dravidian parties are able to get large sums of money through this enterprise, due to which they are able to spend a far more per voter than smaller parties. Due to the industry being so lucrative even smaller parties started to depend on miners for their funding. Even in parties opposed to the activity, such as the CPI(M), the local party members continued to receive money from the sand miners. This has contributed to a culture of politics turning into a means of personal profit and money-making. Local people and economy Sand mining has been estimated to have provided over 2 lakh (200 thousand) jobs directly across Tamil Nadu. In villages on the banks of Cauvery, in the districts of Tiruchi and Karur, almost 40% of jobs are reliant on sand mining. This has led to many villagers collaborating with the sand miners, who have effectively taken over the local economy. Meanwhile agriculture and traditional sources of livelihood are being disrupted due to the environmental impact of sand mining, which has further increased the reliance of locals on sand mining. Suppression of dissent Violence and Murder Like elsewhere in India, Individuals working against the interests of sand miners in Tamil Nadu routinely face the threat of violence and multiple cases of murders related to sand mining are reported every year. Officials actively working against illegal sand mining face threats of violence, and are transferred out of the district such as with the case of U Sagayam, a revenue officer who had his vehicle attacked in retaliation against his efforts to prevent sand mining in the Palar riverbed, and was transferred a few months after the incident. Some individuals working against sand mining have been murdered in "accidents" involving sand lorries, while some activists and protestors are hacked to death. These incidents have led to illegal sand miners and their nexus of supportive officials and local leaders, to be labelled as "sand mafia" in popular culture. According to SANDRP between December 2020 to March 2022, in Tamil Nadu 19 people lost their lives and 10 suffered injuries owing to sand mining related violence and accidents. Suppression of Journalists Journalists reporting on sand mining are silenced