People's dreams of owning house sour

Nizamabad: Owning a house is everyone's dream but the scenario in Nizamabad seems impossible for the middle-class people to fulfill their dream of owning a house as there is steep rise in land and construction prices.

The construction sector which has been stagnant since the outbreak of the Covid epidemic saw the costs of materials shoot up as the business picked up pace as the pandemic declined.

With the prices of cement, sand, bricks, etc., rising all at once, people are reluctant to take up home construction. The double bedroom houses scheme started by the government is in a similar predicament. Contractors and field-level engineers are concerned that the funds earmarked for the project may not meet the rise in materials. The situation of those who own land and want to build houses has also become uncertain.

Until a week ago, a cement bag of a big company was priced at Rs 310 to Rs 320 but now it has increased to Rs 380. With this, local manufacturers also raised the prices by Rs 50 to Rs 70 per bag. Unexpected hike in iron prices is worrying the people. Six months ago, iron price was Rs 56,000 per tonne and it has shot up by up to 18 per cent. Last week, the leading company Vishaka Steel sold iron for Rs 60,000 per tonne and now the price touched Rs 70,000. L&T also hiked the price Rs 67,000 to Rs 70,000.

In the case of sand, price varies from day to day. Now it is being sold between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,500 per truck. Brick prices also witnessed a similar hike. A lightweight brick which used to cost Rs 6 is now going for Rs 8 each. The common type brick stock can cost up to Rs 7,700. Adding fuel to the fire, the labour wages also went up. Women laborers are paid Rs 700 each per day whereas the wage of a male laborer is higher.

In the wake of costs going north, people are postponing house construction in Nizamabad city. As many as 375 houses in Armor were stopped in the middle. 13 people in Jukkalhave expressed inability to bear the expenses. N Manasa Santosh, a civil engineer from Sapthagiri Colony, said that the rise in petrol prices was adversely impacting all sectors. Bhanothu Kiran Kumar, a construction engineer, said that the material costs increased rapidly, placing a huge burden on home builders.