Builders and related construction activity members will stop work for a day on February 12, as part of a nation-wide strike called for by the Builders’ Association of India (BAI). The main demand is measures to control steel and cement prices.
The Joint Action Committee of Coimbatore — representing the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India), Builders Association of India, Contractors Welfare Association, Coimbatore Builders and Contractors Association, Coimbatore Civil Engineers Association, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, The India Institute of Architects, and Paver Block Manufacturer Association — has decided to take out a rally from the Women’s Polytechnic to VOC Park on February 12 and submit a memorandum to the District Collector.
The price of steel has increased from nearly ₹42,000 a tonne to ₹72,000 a tonne in three months and the price of cement has gone up by almost ₹100 for a bag of 50 kg. With the diesel price increase, cost of wires and pipes are also up, said Paneerselvam, chairman of BAI, Coimbatore. This has resulted in construction costs escalating 25 % to 30 % per sq.ft here in the last few months.
“The market is good. We cannot stop or slow down the work we have taken up. But we are unable to bear the spiralling prices of raw materials,” he said. The one-day strike by the builders and related association members will be throughout the district, he added.
