Construction Crisis in Mangaluru: Soaring Material Costs Stifle Building Dreams

coastaldigest.com news network
October 15, 2025

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Mangaluru, Oct 15: The construction sector in Dakshina Kannada is reeling from a severe crisis as new government regulations and slow licensing for laterite quarrying have caused a massive surge in material costs. The price of laterite stone has nearly doubled, pushing the total construction cost of a budget home up by a staggering 33%, and making it significantly harder for the common man to afford a house.

The Price Shock

The core of the crisis lies in the key building materials:

•    Laterite Stone: The price of a single laterite stone has soared from approximately Rs 29 to Rs 55. This astronomical rise is directly attributed to the new set of rules for quarrying and the subsequent bureaucratic delay in issuing licenses.

•    Sand: The unavailability of sand, particularly from Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas, has compounded the issue. A load of sand that cost Rs 7,500 prior to the crisis has now shot up to Rs 17,000. Even the alternative, M-Sand (manufactured sand), is priced high at Rs 11,500 per load.

As a direct consequence of these material price hikes, the total construction cost of a budget house has risen sharply from a moderate Rs 1,800 per square foot to Rs 2,400 per square foot. For a 1,000 sq ft house, the cumulative expense for just the stones (3,000 required) and eight loads of sand is now scuttling the initial budget by an extra Rs 2 lakh. Minor dips in the cost of cement and steel are insufficient to offset this massive material inflation.

Supply Collapse and Industry Impact

The regulatory environment has decimated the material supply chain:

•    Production Halt: Earlier, both legal and illegal quarrying supplied close to six lakh laterite stones daily in Dakshina Kannada. Following the new regulations and licensing norms, this output has plummeted to just one lakh stones per day.

•    Quarry Closures: Mahabala Kottary, president of the Civil Contractors Association Dakshina Kannada (DK), highlighted the operational shutdown: four months prior to the government's halt, there were 750 quarries operating; now, hardly 28 are functioning.

•    Construction Delays: The acute shortage is causing delays for many house owners who are "adamant" about using laterite stones for the whole house. Some builders are now turning to alternatives like cement blocks (costing around Rs 25 per block) for inner walls to keep construction moving.

Stakeholders, including Credai Mangaluru, express cautious optimism, suggesting that it will take at least two to four months for the situation to stabilise. They anticipate that streamlining the quarrying process and securing CRZ blocks for sand will ease the pressure and potentially pull down the construction cost by at least 10%. However, civil contractors note a discernible downward trend in new construction activity, particularly for independent houses in urban areas, despite applicants already having building permits.

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News Network
November 22,2025

Mangaluru: Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H has warned of strict action against individuals spreading rumours and attempting to create insecurity within the Muslim community and fuel hatred between Hindus and Muslims through social media.

Referring to a recent social media post alleging that police personnel had entered a masjid premises to check whether beef was being cooked, the commissioner said miscreants were attempting to push their communal agenda. 

“A group of people, both from Mangaluru and abroad, are trying hard to spread rumours. For the past 10 days, they have been attempting to rake up old issues, highlight routine matters as controversies, or fabricate news altogether,” he said.

He reiterated that any such attempts to disturb communal harmony would invite legal action. “Cases will be registered and the accused will be brought to book,” he stated.

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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