Developmental works halted as extraction of building material banned in Kashmir

SRINAGAR — Valley-based contractors associated with the construction business are aghast over the non-availability of building material, which is presently unavailable in the market due to the curbs put by the government on the excavation of the various building materials.

A group of the contractors, mostly associated with the government and Military Engineering Service (MES), said that they are suffering as their work is on a halt for the last six months as the building material like sand, Bajri and stones are not available in the market.

This, they said, is because the government has put a ban on the extraction and mining of these materials, resulting in a halt on different developmental works along with a negative effect on their business.

One of the contractors, Mohammad Yousuf, said, “On one hand, the government seems to be keen to begin a new era of development in Kashmir and on the other, the ban on extraction of building material is in place.”

“How can development take place, when there is no building material available in the market,” Yousuf said.

They added that they are suffering a great financial loss, as they have already procured machinery and skilled and non-skilled labour from outside the UT, for different works allotted to them, but have to pay them and bear the expenses of their boarding and lodging, without any work being done.

The contractors appealed to the government to lift the ban on the extraction and mining of building material immediately so that there is no further delay in the development process, which according to them is at a halt presently.