By Varun Singh

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been more ‘devastating’ on the real estate sector than the first one, as new launches and sales have fallen drastically since April this year.

There has been a fear amongst realtors of project delays due to the local lockdowns across different States of the country. The real estate industry dealt with few key challenges during this period such as labour shortage, financial constraints, approval delays, hike in the raw material prices, and the weakening customer demand due to the uncertainty in the market.

As the industry gears up for the third wave of the pandemic, the first and foremost thing in their back of mind is to vaccinate their workforce as early as possible. Industry bodies like NAREDCO and CREDAI too have written to the Government to allow vaccination of the labourers at the construction sites.

Commenting about the vaccination of the labourers Ashok Mohanani, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra, said, “The country is expected to be affected by a third wave of the pandemic around July-August. Hence, we are working closely with the Government to procure the vaccination slots for the industry-wage workers. Further to this, we have also written to the Government to allow the vaccination of laborers at the construction sites. A well-paced vaccination drive can help reduce the impact of the third wave.”

Reiterating the same Pritam Chivukula,  Co-Founder & Director, Tridhaatu Realty and Hon. Secretary, CREDAI-MCHI, said, “We look forward to getting the labourers vaccinated at the earliest who are the real nation builders. Their vaccination will streamline the construction activities and help build the dream homes of the people of India.”

Taking the cue from the second wave, realtors too have been cautious and are working towards vaccinating their workforce at the earliest possible.

The Wadhwa Group, is vaccinating its employees in a phased manner. In the first phase, the developer has almost vaccinated two-third of their workforce across the city with at least one dose and is soon planning to vaccinate the remaining workforce in the second phase. The developer mentioned that its foremost priority is to get all the associates, their families, and the entire ecosystem vaccinated at the earliest.

Another realtor from Mumbai, Group Satellite had rolled out a week-long on-premises vaccination drive at their commercial center Solitaire Corporate Park at Andheri in Mumbai. The Group had partnered with Apollo Clinic to facilitate the vaccination drive. Over 50+ offices with over 4500 employees along with their family members took the benefit of this vaccination drive.

Abhishek Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Satellite Developers Pvt. Ltd. said, “Group Satellite is committed to the health and well-being of its employees and in line with this ethos it had conducted this vaccination drive in strict accordance with all Government-approved protocols. The company is extending all possible efforts to get its employees, as well as the members in their corporate premises, vaccinated.”

JP Infra Mumbai Private Limited too had arranged a vaccination drive in two different phases at their head office in Andheri, Mumbai. During this drive, the company managed to vaccinate over 1500 individuals comprising their employees, customers, and channel partners along with their respective family members. The company had collaborated with Surana Group of Hospitals to facilitate the vaccination drive.

Nahar Group, at Chandivali, Andheri a few days ago conducted a vaccination drive for all its construction site workers along with its employees. With this vaccination drive, the company vaccinated more than 200 site workers and all Nahar group employees.

Many realtors are focusing on vaccinating their employees, largely through partnerships with private health care providers and, in some cases, government vaccination centers. While in March, everyone took a backseat owing to the second wave of Covid, and workers were forced to stop work in Mumbai city due to the lockdown restrictions, the industry seems prepared and ready to take on the virus attack with timely vaccination.

Also Read: Housing Sales Dip 58% Q-o-Q Amid 2nd Wave

The post Realtors Vaccinating Workforce Gearing For 3rd Wave appeared first on Square Feat India.

By Varun Singh

The central government’s announcement of allowing Covid-19 vaccination will be made available for all citizens above the age of 18 years from May 1 onwards, has given a new hope to the construction industry.

The much-awaited announcement came when India has been recording a relentless surge of over 200,000 cases of Covid-19 for the past five days.

According to experts from the construction industry, the move will boost the construction activities and address the issue of reverse migration of labourers to some extent.

Below is what doyens of the construction industry got to say on the move and how it will benefit the real estate industry.

Ashok Mohanani – President, NAREDCO Maharashtra
“After the record spike in Covid-19 cases, the next phase of Covid-19 vaccination to those above 18 years of age is a great move by the Government. It will boost the construction activities as it will help the labourers to get vaccinated at the earliest. We hope that the vaccination drive will be expedited further, mitigating the risk factor. We had requested the Government to allow the vaccination drive for labourers between the age-group of 20-45 years as most of the labourers fall in that age category. It will also address the issue of reverse migration as after vaccination, the labourers will feel themselves safe. We have made the Antigen test mandatory for all the migrant workers as per the Government guidelines till they get vaccinated. Labourers are the most vital and integral part of real estate development and taking utmost care of them is our paramount responsibility. We will closely work with all the NAREDCO members to get all of the labourers vaccinated on priority.”

Deepak Goradia, President, CREDAI MCHI
“We welcome the government’s decision to allow vaccination for individuals who are above the age of 18. This will enable developers to vaccinate construction workers and will also help in enhancing their confidence, especially considering other strict safety measures and amenities undertaken at the sites. They are the real nation builders

Pritam Chivukula, Co-Founder & Director, Tridhaatu Realty and Hon. Secretary, CREDAI MCHI
“The decision to allow vaccination to everyone above 18 years of age is a welcome move by the Government. The new strain of the virus is causing more damage to the younger generation of the population. The move will also help the construction sector in a big way as it will help vaccinate the construction workers who are the real nation builders. We had written to the Government to grant permission to conduct the vaccination for the labourers on priority as the earlier GOI directive only permitted vaccination above 45 years of age. Now, we look forward to getting the labourers vaccinated at the earliest which will streamline the construction activities and help build the dream homes of the people of India.”

Rohit Poddar, MD, Poddar Housing and Development LTD
“With the second wave of mutated COVID 19, India has become the second largest country in term of active cases. Majority of Indian population today is the working class which is 25 to 45. With senior citizens receiving vaccines to combat the virus and children with high immune systems warding off the infection, the working class is overworked and overburdened in these challenging times. The vaccination drive for 18 years and above would aid in reducing the virus’s lethal effects on the working-class population. The results of which would largely help in creating a vaccinated environment to stabilize the footfall across sectors and remobilize the economy. While real estate is still recovering with the first wave with the existing precautionary measures, the rising lethal active cases have shaken the demand towards a downward trajectory and it is only the vaccination coupled with the precautionary measures that could push the sector to perform better this year.”

Overall all the industry experts believe that the vaccine will help the construction activity, as the workers on site can now get the vaccines.

Also Read: Sunny Leone Buys Andheri Flat For Rs 16 Crore

The post Construction Activity To Get A Boost Because Of Vaccination Allowed Above 18 Years appeared first on Square Feat India.