Sand, precious and in demand

Nandan (name changed) started constructing a 1,200 sq.ft house about a year ago in the city. Though the building is ready for plastering works, nothing much has happened at the construction site for the last three months. He buys one or two loads of M-sand now as there is no sign of getting river sand at an affordable price.

For Kumar (name changed), at the advice of his architect he went in for river sand for the ceiling work, paying ₹ 43,000 and waiting for 12 days. Though the price has come down slightly now, the waiting time continues to be 10 days for river sand. Shortage and spiralling cost of river sand has hit many like Nandan and Kumar.

Irrespective of the size of the project and even government infrastructure, works are getting delayed with the sand problem, says K. Rajavel, president of Coimbatore chapter of Builders’ Association of India. “Construction costs are up by 15 % only because of the sand issue,” he says.

Though the government has launched online registration for river sand and many have registered too, they are unable to get confirmation on the availability, he says.

Builders and consumers have started using M-Sand. However, its availability is also a problem. The whole problem started just three or four months ago. Till, then though M-Sand manufacturers had production facilities the demand was not this high. With a spurt in demand now, the availability does not meet the requirement and its prices are also up. The government should relax the norms and allow more M-Sand manufacturers to start units, he said.

Even PWD contractors are affected with sand shortage. Though the State Government approved use of M-sand in government projects in 2012, it had not implemented it.

According to Rajesh Lund, chairman of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, Coimbatore, construction projects are getting delayed every where because of the sand issue. Even M-sand of the right quality is not available in adequate quantity, he says.

“There are many site engineers who ask us if they can use M-Sand for foundation or ceiling works. The use is not restricted to any specific work. If the quality of M-Sand is good, it can be used for any construction work,” says V. Gopalakrishnan, chairman of the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India) - Coimbatore centre.

The silt content might be high in M-Sand if the quality is not good and hence there is reluctance in using it for ceiling works. The government should come out with quality standards and have a mechanism to ensure its quality. Then its use would pick up, he says.

There are many who had fixed the dates for house warming ceremony or inauguration of a building, waited for river sand and now going in for M-sand.

Some of the other alternatives for river sand are by-products from cement industry and reusing construction debris.