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Rough road ahead for Alappuzha

Difficult times: Taking up construction is difficult and relatively more expensive in Alappuzha.

The construction industry in Alappuzha is urgently in need of a helping hand; one that is capable of handling a host of issues at the same time. Construction in this beautiful town, which has the potential for much more development, has been bogged down by certain factors, some which are unique to the region.

According to P.P. John, chairman of the ad-hoc committee of the Builders Association of India’s recently constituted Alappuzha unit, one of the major factors is the non-availability of construction material in the district. Be it river sand, broken granite (metal in local parlance), bricks, or cement, Alappuzha has to “import” everything from neighbouring districts or as in the case of sand, from Tamil Nadu.

“Earlier, we could get river sand from Vaikom. But now, with the prohibition on mining of sand, we have to depend on Tamil Nadu. That again has its own bottlenecks. Metal comes from Ernakulam, Kottayam, or Changanassery, while for bricks we have to go to Ernakulam or Vaikom. Cement, like in other districts, comes through local dealers,” says Mr. John.

The issue of cement, he points out, has been dogging the industry across the State for long. Actually, this issue could be resolved in Kerala if the Government is ready to declare the product cost of cement at its Malabar Cement Factory and sell it accordingly, without raising prices to match those of cement manufacturers outside the State,” he adds.

Another major issue that has been a perennial thorn for the construction sector in Alappuzha, is something that is intertwined with the region’s politics and the tantrums of local leaders. Contractors point out that labour charges here are the highest in the State, with even casual construction labourers demanding Rs.350 per day as against the Rs.200 prevailing in other areas like Ernakulam. “This is because trade unions and other labour unions here have been adamant. They do not know, or are not ready to realize that such attitudes will only reduce whatever work opportunities these labourers have,” remarks a developer.

“Politics has been one factor why the flat culture has not taken root in Alappuzha. Investors are apprehensive about trade unions creating problems for their projects. A single strike can mar the image of the project and clients will back out from a delayed project,” he says. “The threat of regular demands for donations and pestering for fund collections is another problem that has kept investors away from Alappuzha. That problem is unique to this part of Kerala,” points out Mr. John.

“It is not that investors are not interested in coming to Alappuzha. The beauty of this region, with the tourism angle thrown in, holds a lot of potential. But then, these sort of bottlenecks have to straightened out if Alappuzha has to develop,” he adds.

Will that ever happen is anybody’s guess.

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