VIJAYAWADA: Appa Rao and his team of 20 men had last gone to work more than a month ago. Now, the mason from Ramavarapadu in Vijayawada  is unsure of getting work even after the lockdown ends. Construction activity was permitted from April 20, but it is yet to begin as raw materials are not available.
“Supply of sand, cement, iron, granite chips and other materials is yet to resume,” general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Builders and Other Construction Workers union Pilli Narasimha Rao pointed out.

Venugopal, a mason from Machilipatnam, said most shops that sell these supplies are in urban areas and red zones, and are still shut. “We told this to the officials, but they said they are helpless.” “We returned to work only a few months ago after the floods and sand crisis, but have now  lost our source of income again,” Appa Rao rued.Being a mason, his financial condition is better than that of his team members, who are paid on a daily or weekly basis. “What worries us the most is that we may not find work after the health crisis. Everyone is in the same boat,” he added.

lakhs of workers stand to lose jobs

Like Appa Rao and his team, a majority of the 35 lakh construction workers across the state are facing a similar fate. “There are those who are indirectly dependent on the building and construction works--painters, welders, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and transporters, among others. Their number in Andhra Pradesh is around 15 lakh,” Narasimha Rao said. Ramana, leader of a building workers’ union in West Godavari, noted that the most important problem was with transportation. “Workers have to be brought to the construction site. If we follow the government’s guidelines, then their transportation would be expensive and builders are not ready to bear the additional cost. Moreover, construction activity is a teamwork, and maintaining social distancing is difficult,” he explained. 

At almost 15 locations in Tirupati, one could usually find daily wagers waiting in groups in the early hours, to be picked up by contractors. However, such is not the case for the past month.  Chand Basha from Nellore said the real crisis would start after the lockdown. “We are not sure how many builders will resume work as they, too, have suffered losses.” K Nageswara Rao from Guntur said it might take six months to pick up. “Summer is the peak time for construction activity and, because of coronavirus, we have lost the prime time. Stuck migrant workers are eager to go back once the lockdown is lifted. So manpower will be a big problem now,” he said 

Usually, workers from Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha, and also from Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, are engaged in building and construction jobs in Guntur and Krishna districts. “Construction sector, which is labour-intensive, is facing a crisis. In and around Vijayawada, there are a lot of uncleared inventories (20,000 to 25,000 apartments in various stages of construction) and it would take at least two years for them to be sold. Hence, the scope of new ventures is minimal. Moreover, the market sentiment due to capital city issues is also not that encouraging,” Sudhakar, a builder in Vijayawada, said.