Scarcity of sand in the district has had a severe impact on the construction industry. The cost of sand per truck (six cubic meters) has touched the Rs 15,000 mark in the city.
The Krishna district administration has closed down a majority of sand reaches upstream of the Krishna riverfollowing the judgement given by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on illegal sand mining and builders are procuring sand from Pedapulipaka and other reaches downstream of Prakasam Barrage.
The large gap between demand and supply has had an adverse impact on construction activities. “We have stalled construction of houses considering the high price of sand. The cost of sand was less than Rs 2,500 per truck till March but it has almost touched the Rs 20,000 mark in the open market now. Though the government is implementing a free sand scheme, operators are charging a huge amount in the name of transport fees,” said K Nagendra, a city-based builder.
Nagendra added that the quality of sand at present is low and not suitable for plastering and other finishing works.
Tummala Vamshi Krishna, secretary of the Builders Association of India, Amaravati chapter, said that builders and a large numbers of construction labourers have lost their livelihoods due to shortage of sand. “Officials closed sand reaches on April 10 and we have submitted a representation to district collector Mohammad Imtiaz. After sand reaches were officially opened after the general elections, we were able to get sand for Rs 6,000 per truck. The problem became severe after the new government took charge as officials closed all reaches and are waiting for the new sand policy,” he said.
