February 12, 2007	Monday	Muharram 23, 1428

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MULTAN, Feb 11: A recent increase in the price of cement has affected the construction sector and rendered a large number of labourers unemployed. Dozens of workers can be seen awaiting an employer at MDA Chowk, Jalal Masjid Chowk and Bohar Gate Chowk.

“I have been sitting here since morning but no one has come to engage me,” says Allah Ditta, a labourer, at MDA Chowk. He said that a day without work meant no food for his family on that day. He said that he was working at an under-construction bungalow but the owner had suspended work because of the increased price of cement.

Ghulam Yaseen, another labourer, said the non-skilled workforce was solely dependent on the building sector but it seemed that the price hike would also make them jobless.

He said the government should take measures to reduce the price of cement otherwise hundreds of thousands labourers would become workless.

According to a survey by Dawn, the price of a cement bag in Multan is Rs330, Dera Ghazi Khan Rs320 to 330, Khanewal Rs300, Rahim Yar Khan Rs280, Bahawalpur Rs280 and Ahmedpur Sial Rs280.

The price of cement in Multan has increased from Rs170 to Rs330 in two weeks because cement manufacturing companies have closed their plants, a cement dealer told Dawn.

He said that besides artificial shortage of cement, another reason for the high price of cement was that the government had allowed cement manufacturing companies to export their products.

He said the government had fixed the price of a cement bag at Rs260 that showed the government was also part of the game.

Jahangeer Khan Tareen, federal industry and production minister, said the cement price would go down in two to three days because government and manufacturers had agreed to fix the price of a cement bag at Rs260.

He said the government was monitoring the manufacturers and if the price did not come down, the government would take action against them. He said manufacturing companies would announce decreasing the price on Monday.

He said the export value of Pakistani cement had increased and that was a good sign. He said that cement manufacturing industry could fulfil the required consumption of the country besides exporting it.

He said that he himself had told manufacturers that if they reduced the supply, the government would take action against them.

Birg Naseem (retired), DG Cement director general, was not available for comments.