Branded sand sale gets a fillip

The persisting scarcity of building construction materials has made sale of branded sand a lucrative business for hardware shop owners in the city.

With the construction activities picking up in the state, the sand has turned a precious and scarce commodity in the market. The demand for sand has increased over the years but the scarcity is felt acutely during the summer, the peak construction season.

The strict measures taken by the district administration to curb the rampant sand mining and smuggling are also said to be have caused the scarcity. These measures have indirectly helped the business of branded sand at wholesale and retailshops.

The price of a tonne of sand which was Rs.4, 500 a year ago has now shot to Rs.15, 000. The sand dealers supply it from Mysore, Mangalore and Chennai to small shops owners and retailers in the state. Some of the brands available in the market are Malabar, Kaveri, Surabhi and Kairali. The cost of superior quality-quality sand bag is Rs.87 while that of ordinary quality is Rs.82.

The branded sand is also available in the 50-kg polythene sacks. The price differs from one district to another, based on the transportation costs. The contractors here won’t have any choice but to go for these branded varieties as it is very difficult for them to get sand in the local market. The contractors of the district have recently urged the revenue department to auction seized sand after issuing a public notice in newspapers.

According to the distributors the packets sand comes in two qualities-nice and hard. The former is used for plastering and the latter for concreting. The branded sand reduces the risk of spillage on transport and prevents the sand from getting mixed with impurities. There is also no need to clean and sieve the packed sand.

Hardware shops too have started selling brands sands which is in a ready-to-use quality.