Amid several disruptions since a new government took office in Andhra Pradesh, recent suicides by construction workers seem to reflect a growing distress in in the state’s construction sector. A major cause for concern this time is a shortage of sand that started as early as in July, when the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led state government tried to regulate mining and supply by replacing the earlier regime’s 'free sand' policy.
With flooding of major rivers extending the shortage, despite the government's ad-hoc measures to manage supply, the price of a truck-load of sand (10-12 tonnes) rose to over Rs 50,000 in the black market, forcing many people to postpone construction work at their houses and residential projects.
"People engaged in sand mining were used to piling up sand in dump yards before rivers and rivulets would become inaccessible due to rains and flooding. However, the new government clamped down on this inform
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