The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Bring down prices of construction materials

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Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Bring down prices of construction materials

Staff Reporter

Hundreds observe a fast in Tirupur

Protest: Construction workers and members of Tirupur Civil Engineers Association and the Federation of All Civil Engineers Association of Tamil Nadu stage a demonstration in Tirupur on Monday.

TIRUPUR: Construction activities came to a halt in Tirupur and surrounding areas on Monday, as hundreds observed a fast near the Tirupur Railway Station, in response to a strike call given by Tirupur Civil Engineers’ Association and the Federation of All Civil Engineers Associations of Tamil Nadu in protest against the spiralling prices of construction materials.

Regional president of the federation S. Rameshkumar and secretary S. Ponnusamy, who led the fast, complained that the cost of construction materials has gone up by 50 per cent in the last two years. The dream of the common man and the middle class to own a house has been shattered by the unabated rise in prices of steel, cement, brick and blue metal. Alleging that a cartel was behind the unreasonable rise in cement price, the federation asked the Government to declare cement, steel and sand as essential commodities and fix the rates. Considering the spurt in infrastructure development, the Government should take appropriate steps to make available raw materials by relaxing rules for quarries. The federation has appealed to the Government to relax norms for building construction. It wanted the Government to act fast to protect the interest of the public and lakhs of construction workers as well.

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