Gujarat CM meets diamond polishers hit by slump, assures ‘all possible help’, action plan for the sector
The development comes a day after the Surat unit of DWUG handed over a memorandum to Surat District Collector and sought a salary hike
3 min read
Representatives from different diamond associations during the meeting with CM Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday (Express)Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel assured “all possible help” to diamond polishers even as he promised to frame an action plan for the sector in the next couple of days. The CM made these remarks during a meeting with the representatives of Diamond Workers’ Union Gujarat (DWUG) in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
The development comes a day after the Surat unit of DWUG handed over a memorandum to Surat District Collector and sought a salary hike, setting up of a board and compensation for the kin of the diamond polishers who have died by suicide.
The DWUG had also stated that if their demands are not met, the diamond polishers will strike indefinitely in Surat, starting March 30.
Representatives from Surat Diamond Association, Ahmedabad Diamond Association, Vishnagar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Palanpur diamond associations took part in the meeting. State Education Minister Praful Pansheriya was also present in the meeting. According to the industry experts, “the diamond industry has been facing a recession due to poor demand for polished diamonds in the international market, and the mining companies have also cut short their production for their survival”.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the association representatives shared about the “poor financial condition of diamond polishers in Surat and across Gujarat” who had “become victims of the recession”, and how it had “become difficult for them to survive”.
The stakeholders also mentioned that there are over 7 lakh diamond polishers in Gujarat, out of which 5 lakh are in Surat. “The present duration is the most prolonged recession faced by the diamond industry in the past 50 years. The state government should take steps to help the diamond polishers financially,” said one of the representatives who took part in the meeting.
Meanwhile, CM Patel said: “The state government will provide all possible help and an action plan will also be made for the diamond merchants and polishers”.
Indian Diamond Institute Chairman Dinesh Navadia told The Indian Express: “This is for the first time joint representations have been made to the CM by the leaders of several diamond associations in the past two-and-a-half years. The CM assured that his departments are working on the issue”.“The government officials have been directed to prepare an action plan which will be introduced in the next couple of days,” Navadia said.
You May Like
