Sand scarcity hits construction activities in Bihar

Patna, December 27: Thousands of labourers, skilled workers, traders dealing in bricks, cement and iron rods have a headache as construction in the whole state has been affected due to sand crisis.

Even truck and tractor owners, who are mainly engaged in transportation of sand, are unhappy with the crisis badly hitting private and public construction, including major infrastructure projects worth thousands of crores of rupees.

N.K. Thakur of the Builders Association of India, Bihar chapter said "One cannot move a step ahead without sand; it is the most important construction material. We have money, cement, bricks, iron rods, labourers and masons, but without sand, construction activities have come to standstill for months.”

Private construction and public infrastructure projects in the state have been badly hit by sand shortage after the state banned sand mining along the riverbeds. It also affected the construction of houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Gramin (PMAY-G).

"Sand scarcity has hit the construction work of the PMAY-G. It is a difficult challenge to complete 400,000 houses for the rural poor by the end of March," said Arvind Choudhary, Principal Secretary, Rural Development Department.