Diamond traders, cutters call off stir

The compromise, an SDA release said, was arrived at only at midnight on Saturday at the Agarwal Samaj Hall, although at least four meetings were held during the day at different places in the city. The SDA then issued a ten-point code of conduct for industrialists and traders which will come into effect from Monday. All parties have agreed to the compromise formula, which even prescribes disciplinary action in the form of fines for those who violate the agreement.

SDA president Devshi Bhadiyadra also announced after the meeting that a permanent committee comprising of office-bearers of the SDA and representatives of traders and industrialists will be appointed soon and will constantly watch over the dealings n the industry in a bid to enforce the agreement. The formation of this committee has become essential because such confrontations between traders and small unit owners have been arising almost every year.

According to details of the accord, payment for all purchases of diamonds valued upto Rs one lakh will be made in Surat itself and not in Mumbai, and no charge will be levied on purchases upto Rs one lakh. Similarly, payment for all purchases above Rs one lakh will be divided to ensure that industrialists do not suffer losses.

In case the sale is in the excess of Rs 1 lakh, traders or brokers will have to pay 35 percent of the sum to industrialists in Surat, while the remaining 65 percent payment will be made from Mumbai. In addition, diamonds, once bought, will not be returned to the industrialists and that there should not be any delay in payments made from Mumbai to small industrialists here.

Any person who violates this agreement will be liable to pay a fine of one per cent of the total sale, which will have to be deposited to the SDA. Similarly, if a particular party is fined three or more times, the SDA reserves the right to blacklist it and print pamphlets warning industrialists and traders not to deal with that particular person.

SDA president Bhadiyadra hoped that the agreement would hold, and that further confrontation between traders and cutters over terms of payment and other issues would not take place. It being a Sunday, most units remained closed, but the entire diamond market is expected to start functioning normally on Monday after a six-day break.