Building material prices have reached historic highs due to the lack of control by the government. According to details, the dream of building a home for the common man has been shattered after the increase in the prices of cement, sand, gravel, and bricks. The government has failed to control the building material prices, which have reached the highest level in history.
The inflation has caused a huge increase in the prices of cement, which is now Rs. 1200 per bag, steel, which is Rs. 270 per kg, bricks, which are Rs. 15000 per thousand, gravel, which is Rs. 125 per foot, and sand, which is Rs. 18000 per truck.
The rising prices of building material have forced people to stop their construction work, which has adversely affected the livelihood of the labor class.
The laborers have also increased their wages, and so have the carpenters, masons, and plumbers, who are demanding exorbitant rates. In Faisalabad and its surrounding areas, the dealers of cement, sand, gravel, and bricks are charging whatever they want.
The dealers have used the excuse of the increase in petroleum products prices to set the rate of local cement at Rs. 1200 per bag.
The skyrocketing prices of cement have not only halted the construction work, but also left a large number of laborers unemployed. In Raiwind city, the building material dealers have become a mafia.
According to sources, the local building material dealers have made millions of rupees by black marketing cement in the current month. The old stock holders are selling at exorbitant prices, while the district administration is oblivious to the black marketing and profiteering.
