The spiralling price of cement over the last fortnight has caused concern among the builders and the people in the region.
The cost per bag here was ruling between Rs. 260 and Rs. 290 about three months ago.
It went down by around Rs. 20 a bag about two months ago. However, it went up to Rs. 320 and Rs. 330 about 45 days ago. Now, the price of a bag had gone up to Rs. 370.
The steep and sudden spurt in cement prices had not gone well with the builders and civil engineers, who lined up with committed projects in different parts of the region. Some of them even went on a hunger strike, which is a rare phenomenon for them. Industry sources say it reflects the sentiments of the builders who have to absorb the rise in cement price.
“Price of cement has been increased without valid reasons. It is a wrong time to effect a steep hike when the construction industry is facing difficult phase for various reasons.
“We don’t see substantial reasons for hiking the prices of cement,” says T.V. Murali, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), Tiruchi chapter.
Many builders said that the price would generally go up at the time of peak demand. It seemed that there was no real demand for cement at the moment as the construction industry was not at all doing well.
Moreover, the overall market sentiment was not good.
They said if the price was not brought down to the nominal level, builders would be left with no option but to increase the cost of flats. The burden would naturally have to be passed on to the customers.
