Online sand sale makes no impact, say engineers

Because of the high sand cost, construction activities have come to near standstill rendering over 5 lakh persons jobless over the last three to four months. 

Coimbatore civil engineers association president Karthick said that the government has managed to regulate prices at collection point from quarries. “But it is taking six to 10 days for a truck to get the next load. This delay has added to the sand price and it is burdening consumers. A load sold for Rs 10,500 to Rs 11,500 in December has now increased four-fold. It has brought construction at the early stages to a halt, while those at finishing stages are forced to spend heavy amount to complete the project,” he added. 

On the other hand, builders alleged that 20 per cent of the sand mined was being illegally transported to Kerala and Karnataka. “In Kerala they are ready to shell out Rs 80,000 to 90,000 per load. Officials of the mines, police and other departments should ensure that the sand is supplied only for domestic use. Also, we don’t have enough M-sand production which is complicating the situation,” said Builders Association of India (Coimbatore Centre) president K Rajavel.