Builders call off strike in Gujarat

The 11-day-old agitation by the builders and contractors in Gujarat against the spiraling prices of cement and steel in the state was called off late on Monday evening. This follows the decision of the cement and steel manufacturers to slash prices.

The decision to slash cement prices by Rs 35 per bag "" from Rs 165 to Rs 130 "" and that of steel by Rs 2000 per metric tonne "" from Rs 26,000 to Rs 24,000 "" was taken at a state-level meeting of representatives of the cement and steel industry with Arun Chaturvedi, president of the Federation of Real Estate Developers Association.

On Monday, the Surat Builders Association had gone on a hunger strike to protest the hike in cement and steel prices. The entire building industry also observed a day-long strike in support of the demands made by the builders.

"Our agitation has paid off and now the cement and steel manufacturers have seen reason," SBA president Jayant Ganatara said.

The entire construction industry of Gujarat had come to a standstill in the past 11 days with more than 20 lakh workers rendered jobless. Almost all builders, contractors and government contractors had stayed away from construction activity.

Normal activities in real estate are expected to start from Wednesday in Ahmedabad. "The strike will definitely lead to delay in the completion of our ongoing projects. We hope to complete our work before the monsoons, when construction work in not undertaken. We should be able to hasten construction activity following the reduction in prices of the raw material," said a Ahmedabad-based building developer.