BUDGAM: After being shut for months of winter and then due to the coronavirus lockdown, brick kilns here in Budgam are selling bricks at much higher rates to make up for the losses.
People from various areas of Budgam district told Kashmir Reader that since the month of April, when the brick kilns restarted work, the rates of bricks have been only going up.
“The demand for bricks has been increasing since the lockdown was eased, so the brick kilns have increased the rates accordingly. There is no one to stop them from doing so, even though these are times of financial distress for most people,” a resident of Budgam said.
A brick kiln worker told Kashmir Reader that due to the suspension of work for almost 8 months since last August, the brick kilns were severely affected. He said that most of the labourers come from other states of India, who work in the kilns for about 6 months in a year. It is only recently that these labourers from outside have started returning to Kashmir, he said.
“It will take nearly a month to prepare new stock of bricks. That will bring down the rates,” he said.
Ghulam Hassan, a member of the Jammu and Kashmir brick kilns manufacturers’ association, said that the brick kilns have only about 30% of the labour workforce with which they have resumed work.
“If the weather conditions remain normal, the new stock will be prepared on an immediate basis. In the year 2015, the rates of the bricks were fixed by the government. Since then, no new rates lists have been issued by the government,” Hassan said.
He said the government should fix rate lists as per the present market rate. If any brick kilns are found violating these rates, the government should take action against them, he said.
“The brick kilns are also buying the raw material at high rates,” Hassan added.
Deputy Commissioner Budgam did not answer calls from this reporter, so his comments could not be included in this report.

ARIF RASHID