Trade bodies in the district have taken upon themselves the responsibility of popularising Manufactured Sand (M-Sand) as an alternative to river sand used in construction of buildings. Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have jointly organised a business meet on the issue here on Monday.
According to a press communiqué issued by the two trade bodies, experts on manufacturing M-sand, produced by grinding stone gravel using giant machineries, would explain the process at the business meet to be held at the Chamber of Commerce MEPCO Mini Auditorium at Kamarajar Salai in the city.
A video on the manufacturing process would also be played at the meet.
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Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan had agreed to preside over the event in which stone quarry lessees, building contractors, engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs could participate without any registration charges.
According to the trade bodies, M-sand could be sold for around Rs. 2,000 per unit as against Rs. 6,500 to 15,000 charged for supply of river sand.
M-sand also had certain unique properties lacked by river sand and it was being used widely in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
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“The Pune-Mumbai Express rail scheme was built entirely with M-sand… Since Madurai and its surrounding areas are famous for small stone quarries, very good prospects exist for starting units for producing M-sand,” the press communiqué here stated.