Another diamond polisher dies by suicide in Surat; 63rd death in 15 months, says union
Diamond polisher Sagar Makwana was found dead inside his house in Surat’s Punagam area. He left behind a note saying he had not been getting enough work and was facing financial issues.
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Sagar’s death came to light after Kalpesh woke up on Thursday morning and found his body. The police were informed and Sagar’s body was taken to SMIMER hospital.A 21-year-old diamond polisher died by suicide at his residence in Gujarat’s Surat on Wednesday night allegedly due to financial issues. This is the 63rd such death in Surat in the last 15 months and the recession in the diamond industry is to blame, the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat alleged.
The incident took place in Surat’s Punagam area. The police identified the deceased as Sagar Makwana and said that he was staying with his elder brother Kalpesh Makwana and his family in Krishnanagar society.
Sagar’s death came to light after Kalpesh woke up on Thursday morning and found his body. The police were informed and Sagar’s body was taken to SMIMER hospital.
Kalpesh reportedly told the police that the family hails from Amreli and Sagar was unmarried. The police recovered a suicide note written in Gujarati.
“The deceased mentioned that he was not getting enough work to cut and polish rough diamonds as a result of which he was drawing less salary and faced financial constraints. We are trying to find out where he worked, what his salary was, and whether he had taken any loans or borrowed money. The family stays in a rented house,” Punagam Police Inspector M C Nayak said.
The president of the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat in Surat, Bhavesh Tank, said that the recession in the diamond industry has impacted the lives of diamond polishers. “There are 25,000 diamond polishers affected by the recession in Surat. In the last 15 months, 62 diamond polishers have died by suicide here either due to unemployment or because they are getting less salary due to less work,” Tank said.
“They are unable to pay loans, repay the money borrowed from people and friends, pay the house rent or cover the education expenses of their children. We have started a helpline number to prevent diamond polishers from ending their lives. To date, we have received over 500 calls,” he added. Tank said they would meet the Makwana family and try to help them.
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