for small construction projects the locals sometimes dig a cart or two of beach sand to mix in with the cement. a few small specific areas of the beach have coarse grain sand that would be suitable if it were not for the salt content. construction sand along the coast is mostly acquired by dredging the rivers but there are many environmental restrictions so it is often not available and the price can become prohibitively expensive during the increasingly frequent shortages. while it is not legal to extract sand from beaches the environmental impact of gathering a few oxcarts on this 4,5 km beach is minimal and fortunately the vast majority of the sand is too fine grained to be of use in cement.
this shot is from arawali beach in southern maharashtra.