The construction industry is going through a tough phase following shortage of sand.

It all began with the Madras High Court banning the registration of unauthorised lands, followed by demonetisation. “Construction and real estate have been affected badly. There are around four lakh workers in the State who are directly involved in the construction sector.

Around 1.5 workers are indirectly involved. They have to be paid wages at any cost. Earlier, one load of sand was sold at Rs 4,500. But now it is Rs. 13,000. We were receiving 750 loads everyday. We are getting zero loads now. The cost of bricks have not gone up. But it would also increase any time.

M(Manufactured)-Sand is a good alternative for river sand. But we do not have the potential to manufacture M-sand in large quantity. Illegal sand mining is also one of the reasons behind shortage of sand. The price of one load sand load (Karur to Coimbatore) is Rs 12,000 but when it crosses the State border, it costs Rs 40,000,” said
R Karthik, President of Coimbatore Civil Engineers Association (COCENA).

A.P. Angannan, President, Sand Lorry Owners Association, Sulur told The Covai Post, that lorry owners were the worst affected. “Because of the interim stay on mining Cauvery river bed, Coimbatore and Tirupur districts are not getting adequate sand for construction. If anybody orders sand online, they will get it only after 15 days. As a result, our vehicles do not ply for more than 15 day in a month. We are looking forward to the court ruling on September 12. If we get a favourable order, then we might have business four days a week,” he said.