A boost in construction activities may address the issue of reverse migration of labourersAs part of the vaccination drive amid the second wave of the pandemic, the government announced on April 19, Monday,that the COVID-19 vaccination will be made available for all citizens above the age of 18 years from May 1, 2021,onwards.
The announcement came at a timewhen the countryhas been registering a massive surge of more than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 for the past week.
According to experts from the real estate sector, the move will boostconstruction activities and address the issue of reverse migration of labourers up tosome extent.India's third phase of vaccination drive - Impact on real estate sector: What experts say:Mr.
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."Mr.
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."