Trade bodies, contractors seek end to quarry impasse

February 26, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:39 am IST - Kozhikode:

Various organisations and stakeholders in the construction sector have come out strongly against the alleged ‘indifference’ of the government towards the strike now on in the quarry sector, and also the unrestrained price rise and scarcity of construction materials, including cement and steel, in the State.

At a press conference here on Tuesday, the Licensed Engineers and Supervisors Federation (LENSFED) members said it was high time that the government intervened to sort out the issue.

Members of the federation, which has decided to stage an evening dharna in the city on Friday demanding the intervention of the government in the issue, said that the crisis had already begun to affect the lives of thousands of people working in the sector. “The unbridled price of building materials on one side and the inimical policies and regulations by the government on the other are stifling the growth of the entire industry,” C. Saneesh Kumar, the federation’s district president, said.

Intervention sought

The district committee of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi has sought the immediate intervention of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to solve the problems in the quarry sector. District secretary Asharaf Moothedath said a number of infrastructural projects, which were scheduled to be completed by March, had come to a standstill.

The All Kerala Government Contractors Association organising secretary K.M. Akbar, in a release issued here on Wednesday, said that the government had already caused enough trouble for contractors by defaulting on the arrears due to them. Mr. Akbar said that the association was preparing to boycott government works.

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