Now, sand comes in bags
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Processed sand from Tamil Nadu is being marketed in bags in Central Kerala, writes Abdul Latheef Naha
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— Photo: M. Goverthan
PRECIOUS COMMODITY: Sand from the Cauvery is being sold in certain parts of Kerala these days.
The construction industry appears to be inching towards a crisis on account of the spiralling prices of materials and increasing dearth of sand.
With the Government crackdown on illegal and uncontrolled mining, sand has, perhaps, become the most prized construction material.
Unavailability of sand has brought construction at many places to a halt. Inspired by the aphorism that necessity is the mother of invention, a group of enterprising men have begun to supply river sand collected from the Cauvery in Tamil Nadu.
The processed sand is available in 50 kg bags — just like the cement bags. Brand-named Nachiyar, the Cauvery sand is becoming popular in Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Palakkad. It is poised to make inroads into other parts of Kerala soon.
Sand in bags? The initial frown on those engaged in construction has begun to give way to approval.
The economics of Nachiyar sand has begun to make sense to those who are aware of the technicalities of the construction industry.
Big attraction
The biggest attraction of the packaged sand is that it is processed and ready to use. According to K.N. Rahmatullah, managing director of Pollachi-based K.N.R. Minerals, which is supplying the Nachiyar packaged sand, the sand is packed after cleaning and sieving it.
The packed sand comes in two categories: the hard sand with larger grains is meant for concrete work and the nice sand with smaller grains for plastering work.
As it is sieved before packing, the full quantity of the sand can be used. There will be no waste in the packaged sand.
Builders point out that about 20 per cent of the conventional sand transported in trucks and pickups will not be of use for either concrete or plastering work.
Many advantages
Besides, the process of sieving to segregate the waste involves considerable labour as well.
Another advantage of packaged sand is that it can be handled more easily than the conventional loose sand.
Sand bags can be stacked in any corner and can be used according to the need.
As the weight and quantity of the sand in the pack are already known, it saves the user from measuring it for each purpose.
“It is ready-made sand tailored for all purposes in the construction sector,” says Abdul Nassar, proprietor of Nassar Associates and technical consultant to K.N.R. Minerals.
Economical
Mr. Nassar argues that packaged sand is economically viable for people. “It’s in fact cheaper than conventional sand,” he says.
A conventional truckload usually contains about 300 cubic feet of loose sand. This, in construction terminology, will be of three units.
Such a load of loose sand currently costs Rs. 13,500 in Thrissur and Palakkad regions.
The cost of this unprocessed sand, when converted to a lesser unit, will come to Rs. 45 a cubic foot. However, after considering the 20 per cent waste and the labour involved in sieving, the sand will ultimately cost between Rs. 60 and Rs. 62 a cubic foot.
“People do not normally consider the waste and labour involved in cleaning the sand when working out the economics of sand,” says P.K. Shahul Hameed, the dealer of Nachiyar packaged sand in Kerala.
A 50-kg bag contains about 1.4 cubit feet of sieved sand. The bag is currently sold at retail for Rs. 70 in Thrissur, Rs. 65 in Palakkad, and Rs. 75 in Malappuram and Kozhikode. When converted to a common unit, the packed sand costs Rs. 55 a cubic foot in Thrissur.
“This makes good sense,” says Mr. Nassar, who prefers packaged sand to raw sand for his buildings.
With the arrival of the monsoon, conventional sand has become even more precious.
Although m-sand (manufactured sand) supplied by a couple of firms in Ernakulam district has become a popular and viable replacement for the conventional river sand, it is in short supply.
It costs Rs. 40 a cubic foot, a bit cheaper than the packaged and loose sand.
Rising demand
Hameed, one of the proprietors of Buhari Trading Corporation, the supplier of Nachiyar sand in Kerala, says that the demand for packaged sand has been on the rise. “At present, we can’t meet the demand,” he says.
He says about 800 bags of sand will be sufficient to cover a little over 1,000 sq. ft area of a house in construction.
Mr. Hameed points out that the end-user of packaged sand is saved of all legal worries. “We supply the imported sand from Tamil Nadu after paying all taxes … so the consumer has got little to worry about the interference of revenue authorities.”
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