Sand fair price shop in Kulathupuzha a big draw

At a time when the cost of sand for construction is beyond the reach
of the common man, the Forest Department's fair price sand depot
'Kalavara' at Kulathupuzha in Kollam district is a relief to many.The
same quantity of sand sold at Rs.14,000 a lorry load in the open
market is available here at Rs.5,600 for the APL category and at
Rs.4,500 for the BPL category.
The sand is of superior quality to that available in the open market.
Even private suppliers agree that it is fine coarse sand suitable for
concreting works. The sand is mined from the Chozhiyakodu and Mill
Paalam course of the Kulathupuzha river inside the Kulathupuzha forest
range. Mining from the two points was assessed and quality certified
by the Mining and Geology Department. From each point, 5,500 cubic
metres can be mined. Two vana samrakshana samithis have been
constituted for sand-mining. The samithis comprise 30 self-help groups
with six persons in each group. The samithi is paid Rs.2,000 as wages.
The sand is sold only for constructing houses. Applications have to be
submitted with the approved plan and the copy of identity cards to the
Nirmrithi Kendra. At Kalavara, only applications from
Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts are accepted. Kulathupuzha
Forest Range Officer S. Abdul Jaleel said 600 applications, 300 each
from the APL and BPL sections, had been approved and fresh
applications would be accepted only after clearing them. He said the
scheme was launched on the initiative of Forest Minister Benoy Viswom
in providing quality sand at affordable price to help the common man
construct a house of his own.

The Hindu, June 20