Builders to stage a one-day strike over cement price
Builders across the state have decided to stage a one-day strike on Thursday protesting against the unprecedented 100% hike in the price of cement in the last one month. The hike in the prices of cement and other raw material had already hit the construction sector badly. Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) Tamil Nadu chapter president T Chitty Babu and Builders’ Association of India (BAI) past president Radhakrishnan said that though the builders would shut down operations on the day the workers would be paid salary.
Meanwhile, builders from Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka have come together to import cement from Pakistan, Iran and Ukraine.A group of builders from Kerala has already brought 20 containers of cement from Pakistan. The domestic brands cost Rs 290 to Rs 300 per 50 kg bag, Pakistan cement’s landing cost at Cochin port was only Rs 190 a bag.
The Tamil Nadu government was initially interested in joining hands with builders in importing cement with a view to reining in the cement lobby and insulating the government-sponsored Kalaignar housing scheme from the effects of the price hike but later backtracked after the cement lobby assured the government that it would supply cement at Rs 210 per bag for all government-sponsored schemes.
Source: Times of India
Builders across the state, Builders' Association of India, Chennai, Chennai Builders, CREDAI Chennai, protest against hike in the price of cement, Real estate in India, strike over cement price
