Blue metal or Gold ??
Tirupur:Price increased to Rs.4, 300 a lorry load."We will stop buying blue metal".The sudden rise in the price of blue metal, an important raw material for the construction industry, has upset builders and building owners here. The crushing units increased the rate of blue metal to Rs.4, 300 a lorry load (two units) from Rs.3, 400 two weeks ago. The units suddenly stopped the supply for a week by March-end before announcing the increase, to create an artificial demand, sources say.After stiff resistance from builders and contractors, the Association of Crushing Units could not implement the increase uniformly: some of the units sell the blue metal at Rs.4,000 a lorry load while others sell at a lower price."We do not see any reason for the sudden increase. The manufacturing cost has not increased at all. Still, they have increased the cost to make a huge profit," says K. Shanmugaraj, newly elected president of the Tirupur Civil Engineers' Association.The construction industry here sources blue metal from 45 quarries at Uthukuli, Velampalayam and other areas. Mr. Shanmugaraj says the cost of making blue metal comes to Rs.1,350 a lorry load. There has been no increase in diesel price or in the labour cost. "We want them to reduce the cost. If they refused to do so, we will stop buying blue metal," he warns.The poor and the middle class, who build houses borrowing from banks, are the worst affected. The cost of construction has risen to Rs.800 a square foot from Rs. 600 last year. Through the cost of sand and brick ruled stable in the past couple of months, the cost of cement and steel and labour has shot up.
Mr. Shanmugaram says the sudden increase in material costs and the interest rate have slowed down the construction activity here. The steel price went up a week ago, by Rs.1,500 a tonne.The wages of mason has touched Rs.250 a day. "The cement and steel prices are a national issue. But the abnormal increase in the blue metal price is a local phenomenon. The increase in labour cost is also acceptable, as workers can't lead a decent living in a costly town," he says. On a request by the association, the Revenue Divisional Officer and the Tirupur MLA have agreed to discuss the issue with the crushing units on April 30.
