Over two months into the lockdown, construction activities in Krishna district are gradually picking up pace again after the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) resumed the supply of sand in containment zones.
The APMDC had stopped the supply of sand in containment zones in the state as the number of positive Covid-19 cases started to increase. The halt in construction activity affected close to 20,000 workers from Jharkhand and Bihar who were taking shelter with local builders. In a report on May 25, this paper had highlighted how the shortage of sand had hit builders and construction workers in Vijayawada city.
Following representations by industry bodies to allow booking sand online for non-containment areas, the APMDC started accepting online orders for all areas. Construction activities have picked up since then. “Finally we are happy to start our works after two months. Hundreds of migrant workers were taking shelter in our work site and it became a huge burden on us to feed them. We are happy that sand orders have been revived and most of our builders have started works,” said K Narayana, a city-based builder.
Meanwhile, as part of pre-emptive measures, authorities at the labour welfare department have directed builders to take necessary measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at construction sites. Masks have been made mandatory at the site and hand sanitizers should be provided. In addition, builders have been directed to take measures to maintain physical distancing at the project site. “We are very much concerned about the health of our workers. We are checking the temparature of every construction worker who attends duty and only permitting the healthy workers. Healthy diet is provided to them so that they can get strength and immunity,”said K Raju Kumar, a city-based builder.
