Brick, blue metal prices fail to ease

Utella

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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CHENNAI: Despite an assurance given by the brick manufacturers and stone quarry owners to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa two weeks ..

CHENNAI: Despite an assurance given by the brick manufacturers and stone quarry owners to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa two weeks ago that the prices of bricks and blue metal would be brought down, nothing concrete seems to have happened on the ground as middlemen are apparently obstructing the move.On Sunday, when Express checked out the prices of these construction materials with a few agencies in the city, the rate that they quoted were the same as the price two weeks ago. Bricks continued to be sold at Rs 20,000 to Rs 21,000 per truck load, while blue metal prices ranged between Rs 4,400 and Rs 5,400.A couple of agencies in Royapettah told Express that they were unable to bring down the prices as they continued to receive supplies at the same rate.“We are getting the materials at the same rate that was prevalent before. We can reduce the prices only if we get materials at a cheaper rate,” they said.“We don’t have any reason to keep the prices high if we got the materials at a reduced price,” said another agent.After a meeting with the chief minister two weeks ago, the Tamil Nadu Stone Quarry Crushers and Lorry Owners’ Association president K Chinnasamy and Tamil Nadu Brick Manufactures’ Association president K Rathinasekar had jointly announced a reduction in brick price by Rs 3,000 per load and blue metal price by Rs 700 per load.When contacted, Chinnasamy said, “We reduced the price of blue metal as per the assurance given to the Chief Minister. It is only because of some profit- motive agencies and middlemen that the price remains the same at some places in Chennai.” District- level supervising panels have been formed to monitor the blue metal price in the markets.APPROACH US DIRECTLY: MANUFACTURERS As the price of blue metal remained unchanged due to the involvement of middlemen, Tamil Nadu Stone Quarry Crushers and Lorry Owners’ Association president K Chinnasamy said consumers should approach the manufacturers directly. “We are ready to supply blue metal directly to them by evading middlemen.”