LUDHIANA: At the time when there is a lot of tension in the Indo-Pak relations,
Pakistani cement
continues to be used in the
construction works
ranging from domestic,
commercial
and making of bricks.
Harjeet Singh, a brick kiln owner from the city, said that there are two types of bricks on that are made from gypsum and the other that is made from cement. In India, he said that fly ash is used in making
cement
and in Pakistan, the stones are used and this makes it stronger. However, he said that there were certain weak points also as the Pakistan cement required more water as compared to the Indian cement. "There are different companies in Pakistan that make cement. We are using this cement in making bricks. People use this cement for the ground work related to flooring and the demand for the cement is good in
Punjab," added Harjeet.
Nittin Jain, a hardware showroom owner on Ferozepur road said that the cement was not used for small work but was rather used in bulk and the reason he said was that they order Pakistani cement which arrives from Amritsar. When ever they have a big order only then they order this cement and supply it to the clients. "There are people who have stocks and provide small orders but we deal differently and only deal in bulk orders. There is a demand for the cement as people have this notion that Pakistan cement is cheaper," he added.
However, Ankit, one of the prominent importers of Pakistan cement from Ludhiana, said that the Pakistan cement business has seen ups and down. Earlier, he said that there was a lot of price difference which has now almost disappeared and rates are almost at par with each other.