DailyPost 455
THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION!
The cost of construction is a term which is variously understood by builders, customers, regulators, banks & other stakeholders, for different purposes & for some saving or for gain All gain in some way or the other. In the construction industry there has been only one perpetual loser; the construction worker. He is real builder, the creator, the fulcrum of all stakeholders.
In any new area getting constructed, when the darkness sets, is seen tiny flames in hutments all around. Hunger being decimated. In this battle for a better quality of life, of better quality houses/offices & commercial complexes, do the constructors remain eternal outsiders, meant only to be exploited. When there are standards, for everything in construction, there ought to be hiring standards for construction workers.
The Reliance Jamnagar is an example worth replicating. The basic amenities of workers have been take care of, employing over lakh workers at a point. The workers satisfaction level is high. The bare minimum infrastructure for workers with clear cut standards needs to created. It should be met with. The blue color plastic sheet over wooden poles tied as a triangle, cannot be called even a temporary home. The workers creating wonderful parks for elite’s health, need not live in such pitiable conditions.
Dust is a permanent companion, of the worker’s family, including kids. Human rights debates ought to happen here. With they shifting from one location to the other, they become permanent refugees, then what happens to children’s education? Does right to education make sense? We have all gained out of them but never thought of issues concerning them. A general health check up of construction workers would throw up what they have been going through.
Lots of our dispersed services should reach these workers, inclusive of that of the NGOs, in a coordinated manner, wherever they are. How can we be indifferent to the people who have been making a difference to our lives?
WHAT DOES A CONSTRUCTION, COST TO A CONSTRUCTION WORKER?
Sanjay Sahay