Strike against hike of cement prices

     Written by : SMTV24x7 | Sun, Apr 16, 2017, 07:17 PM

Strike against hike of cement prices

Visakhapatnam April 16: Daily cement prices will be changed but suddenly The hike in cement prices during the last one month or so, from Rs 230 a bag to Rs 360 a bag is taking its toll on the construction industry and other industries in AP, according to the builders, contractors and other industrialists.

Representatives of the local chapter of the Builders' Association of India, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), the AP Chamber of Commerce, and others – at a joint media conference here on Wednesday protested the sudden and steep hike and appealed to the State government to take immediate steps to control the price hike, failing which, the construction activity in the State would come to a halt in a week, they feared.

President of the CREDAI (Vizag) Koteswara Rao, said there was no justification at all for the hike and the industry cannot absorb it.



The companies had formed into a cartel and resorting to unfair trade practices, he said, adding that a majority of the ongoing projects would have to be stopped as the contractors cannot execute the projects at these prices. Construction activity would take a huge hit, he added.

Director of AP Chamber of Commerce O Naresh Kumar noted that it was not for the first time the cement companies were adopting such tactics and in the past the Competition Commission of India had imposed hefty fines on major cement companies in the country. "But they seem to have learnt no lesson. The government should exercise control over them,"
he said