Builders in the region staged protests on Tuesday demanding measures to control cement prices.
According to them, the price of cement shot up by 30 per cent to 40 per cent in the last one month. The price was Rs. 395 for a 50 kg bag now as against Rs. 280 a month ago.
In Coimbatore, builders, architects, contractors and engineers took out a rally to VOC Park and submitted a memorandum to the District Collector. According to S.K. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Builders’ Association of India, Coimbatore Centre, they took out a rally from Women’s Polytechnic in the city to VOC Park. Members of 11 associations participated.
D.R. Sekar, president of BAI-Tamil Nadu, said though the association welcomed the launch of Amma Cement, the construction sector was demanding measures so that cement prices would come down and benefit all segments of the industry.
In Salem, members of the associations involved with the construction industry staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Tuesday urging the State Government to take steps for bringing down the price of cement. Members of the Civil Engineers Association, BAI and the Flat Promoters Association participated in the demonstration wearing black badges. Members of the Construction Workers Union expressed solidarity with these associations and participated in the agitation.
Apart from those who wanted to buy a house, development works executed by different Government departments too could not be completed, said P. Baskaran, president of the Civil Engineers Association, and Shanmugavel, chairman of the Salem chapter of the BAI. They alleged that cement bags were not available in the market for the past one week and the supply resumed only after the price was hiked by Rs. 60 (from Rs. 320 to Rs. 380).
“Declare cement as essential commodity and set up integrated markets to sell cement at controlled prices” were the major demands voiced by members of BAI – Tirupur Centre while observing fast to condemn the frequent increases in cement prices on Tuesday.
K. Shanmugaraj, chairman of the BAI (Tirupur centre), said that there cannot be any justification to sell the cement at Rs 375 for a 50 kg bag when the production costs and other factors such as Value Added Tax and excise duties come together to only Rs 126 for a bag. “Even if the transportation costs and agent commissions added, the retail price need not have to be more than Rs 215 for a bag,” he said.
Proprietors of major construction industries, including those that executed Government projects, joined builders and civil engineers in the protest in Erode. N. Sivanesan, president of Federation of All Trade and Industries Association (FATIA) in Erode district, said there was an immediate need for course correction as the livelihood of three lakh construction workers and several thousands of civil engineers was at stake.
As a long-term solution, Mr. Sivanesan suggested formation of Users Price Fixation Committee for all building materials and formation of a tripartite committee of distributors, users and manufacturers to determine price of cement once in three months.
