Transportation of construction material to building sites has become a herculean task in the city since Tuesday when the night curfew to control the rise in Covid-19 cases came into effect.
Trucks ferrying construction material to the various building sites are able to operate only for two hours in 24 hours — the movement of heavy vehicles is already prohibited between 6am and 10pm within the city limits and the new restrictions in view of Covid-19 take effect from 10pm to 4am. This may have an adverse impact over construction work slowing down.
Most of the vehicles carrying material including m-sand, steel bars and hollow blocks are parked on the outskirts of the city during the night curfew till 4am. The heavy vehicles rush to the building sites to deliver construction material within two hours and leave the city limits before 6am. Approximately 1,500 lorries are engaged in ferrying construction material in Chennai.
S Ramaprabhu, state secretary of Builders Association of India, said that 70%- 80% of all construction material is delivered during the night as heavy vehicles are permitted to operate only during the night hours within the city limits. “Developers are sustaining with available stocks in the construction sites, which are getting exhausted due to the ongoing works. We may face issues over stock availability from Monday due to delay in delivering material at the construction sites,” he added.
Tamil Nadu State Sand Lorry Owner’s Federation president S Yuvaraj said that the development will affect the construction work across the city. “In the place of multiple loads, trucks are able to deliver only one load in two hours,” he said. The federation has taken up the issue with the state government on Friday urging the state government to exempt lorries ferrying construction materials from the curfew at night.
S Sridharan, chairman of urban development and affordable housing committee of the developers body CREDAI National, said that there would be a slight delay in the phase of constructions due to accessing building material. “We are representing the issue with the state government,” he added.
