Brick makers in the district recently increased hiked the price of bricks, sending rates up from Rs 10,500 per 1,000 pieces to between Rs 14,000 and Rs 16,000.
The surprise jump in the market prices of one of the major construction material has had an impact on the ongoing construction work on a house being built by Paramananda Jha, a resident of Suga VDC Ward No 7.
Talking to Republica, Jha says: "I am compelled to stop construction of my house following the sudden price increase of bricks by nearly 50 percent."
The brick factories in the districts are colluding to form a cartel and control prices which is against the rule of free market economy, customers have complained. Jha says the owners of the brick factories have tried to claim innocence saying that rise in the price of coal, laborer's wages and damage of raw bricks by recent rainfall were the reasons behind price hike. Jha complains that he might not be able to finish his house if the high prices persist.
Customers say the District Administration Office (DAO) and the district chapter of Cottage and Small Industries are not paying heed their concerns and problems, including the recent price hike of bricks.
Talking to Republica, Assistant Chief District Officer of Mahottari district Kiran Thapa said their attention had been drawn to the price hike. "It is not a good practice to increase prices by around 50 percent at once while the price of bricks has gone up by around 10 percent in other districts like Kathmandu and Biratnagar," Thapa said.
Thapa says the district authorities have started inquiries into the hike and have asked factory owners and the local Brick Manufacturers Association to furnish the causes behind the sharp increment and will soon also inspect factories.
On the other hand factory owners say the rise is justified. Jaya Kumar Chaudhary, proprietor of Ma Kali Ita Udhyog at Suga-1, says his factory increased prices due to rise in the input costs. "Laborers, who used to draw about Rs 500, have demanded that we double their wages, the price of coal has also doubled and rainfall in recent days damaged our raw bricks," Chaudhary says.
"In this context selling bricks at the same rate as before would mean losses amounting to millions of rupees," Chaudhary adds, saying that factory owner had been forced to increase the price to cover losses.
There are around 56 brick factories operating in the district of which eight are operating without registration.
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