CHENNAI: With a salary of Rs 11,000 per month and shelter and food provided by his contractor, Adi Narayana, a 48-year-old construction labourer, was able to live comfortably and sustain his family. However, two months back, this idyllic life was shattered when his contractor abruptly cancelled his contract, citing sand shortage, leaving him, his wife, and his eight-year-old child on the road. “Neither do we have the money to make ends meet nor do we know anything other than construction work. While we are starving and trying to get at least one meal per day for our child, most people from our group have migrated to other t owns for jobs,” said Narayana.
Exactly a year ago in March, the Water Resources Department (WRD) confirmed that 21 new quarries would be opened across the state. In July 2018, another announcement stated that 27 new quarries, instead of the original 21, would be opened in a phased manner in Tamil Nadu to cater to the needs of the construction industry. It was stated that the quarries would be excavated and operational one month later, in July. But, only six quarries are currently in operation, which supply only 230 loads per day, as opposed to the city’s daily requirement for 25,000 loads.
This 95 per cent shortage has put builders, sand lorry owners and construction workers in a fix. “Two of my projects were in the final stages in December 2018 when the sand supply completely stopped. I can take up other projects only if I complete them. Not just me, but a lot of other people dependent on me like the construction workers, electricians, plumbers and carpenters have lost their jobs. The industry is crippling,” said V Nandagopal, a builder at Urapakkam. Real estate records in 2017-18 state that one lakh jobs have been lost in Tamil Nadu alone, and the construction of one crore square feet of land has been delayed. About Rs 10,000 crore worth of investments have been affected, which has resulted in serious losses for developers and customers.
Though M-Sand has been introduced as an alternative to meet the demand, industry players say it is not a feasible option. S Yuvaraj, president of Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owner’s Federation explained, “The strength of M-Sand is comparatively weaker as it requires to be washed with water before use. The current water shortage does not support this practice. Also, many builders complained that the sand is so weak that tiling cannot be stuck on walls, so buyers do not prefer M-Sand.” He urged the state to provide the necessary infrastructure and subsidies to bring down the price of M-Sand.
The members of Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners Federation will be on a 24-hour hunger strike on March 19 to protest against the issue. When contacted, the Public Works Department officials said that sand is available in about 50 quarries, but contractors are not available for excavation. However, Yuvaraj said that when former chief minister late J Jayalalithaa, announced in 2003 that the government would supply sand, they also procured a machine for the extraction of sand from the quarry. Officials did not mention what was the current condition or usage of these machines.