BHUBANESWAR: Anyone who is building a house knows without doubt cement is the biggest drain on the budget, its price soaring through the roof in the recent months.
Orissa presents a queer case as cement apparently is costliest here, compared to the neighbouring states.
A 50-kg bag of cement costs between Rs 240 and Rs 250 in Bhubaneswar, but the same can be purchased at about Rs 180-190 in the bordering towns of Andhra Pradesh.
In Ichhapuram and Visakhapatnam, a cement bag sells in the range of Rs 160 - Rs 180. In Bhubaneswar, it can be dearer by Rs 70 to 80. In Berhampur too, cement comes cheaper than Bhubaneswar. In Chhattisgarh cement prices are lower than in Orissa.
Industry insiders blame it on inadequate transportation facility because the rakes provided by Railways fail to meet the demand and transporting cement by road from the production facilities can be exorbitant.
There are three major producers of cement in Orissa and the factories are in western Orissa districts.
Though railway transportation is the most economical, there are not enough rakes for cement.
As against a requirement of 25 to 30 rakes, Railway authorities manage to allocate just about half every month which leads to one kind of scarcity.
While the price is affected by huge demand, suppliers are at times forced to transport cement by road which adds to the cost.
“If we transport it by road from Jharsuguda, price of each bag goes up by Rs 40 to 45 which is almost criminal,” said a lead supplier.
In view of rising demand, Railways have started pressing in open rakes since closed rakes are not easily available.
E a c h closed rake can carry about 2,600 tonne cement, while an open rake contains almost 4,000 tonne.
Besides, open rakes have issues of damage as cargo is exposed to rain and outside effects.
In fact, Railways have their hands tied too.
With food grains movement on top of their priority list, they have to allocate rakes for cement transportation basing on the availability.
“If more rakes could be released for the zone, it can help stabilise cement price which has not only affected people in general but hit the housing sector too,” industry sources point out.
On an average, about 5.5 lakh tonne cement is consumed every month in Orissa of which 60 per cent is met by the three producers.