Unlock 3.0 in Surat: Diamond Polishing Industry To Resume
Unlock 3.0 in Surat: Diamond Polishing Industry To Resume
The diamond industry in Surat is coming back to track.
With regular Covid-19 cases stabilizing in Surat and Unlock 3.0 has knocked the doors of the city, the Surat’s diamond industry is back to returning its operations. The civic authorities have permitted a maximum of two diamond polishing workers at each table that is against the earlier practice of four, based on industry representation.
The number of hours of operations has been extended from four to six. The industry is expected to be sitting with a rough diamond inventory of over 2 billion dollars before fresh supply can be imported for polishing.
The Diamond Polishing Hub Surat combat against COVID-19
Surat, the world’s largest diamond polishing hub, has been healing from the damages caused by the pandemic COVID-19 with a flurry of positive cases taking its diamond polishing industry to a near standstill. Shortly after Unlock 1.0, the diamond polishing industry is expected to polish nine of ten rough diamonds in the world, has resumed its operations. Still, a boost in COVID-19 cases at the diamond polishing group, especially in Katargam and Varachha, made units to go into a voluntary lockdown that continued till now.
The diamond polishing workers were trapped with the pandemic coronavirus.
Approximately 1,700 diamond polishing workers in the hubs of Katargam and Varachha were tested positive for COVID-19. Various units have been even penalized by the Surat Municipal Corporation for ridiculing social distancing measures to prevent the widespread of the novel virus.
The come back of the diamond polishing industry.
According to Dinesh Navadiya, regional chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the civic authorities that includes the municipal commissioner and the city mayor, have permitted several relaxations that are helping workers and the industry to resume work at the polishing units.
For example, the number of hours of operations has been extended from four hours to six hours. “As upon the earlier order of allotting operations between 2 pm and 6 pm, now units can operate between 12 pm and 6 pm,” Navadiya said.
Unlock-1 induced the diamond polishing industry to kick in.
Diamond industries in the Surat were locked during the lockdown induced by the pandemic COVID-19 but started servicing pending orders after Unlock 1.0. The industry also witnessed unemployment and less order as a cause of COVID-19 lockdown. No transport availability damages the industry as they were not able to send and take orders.
The exports and imports of the diamonds from Surat
Quickly exports to the vital market of Hong Kong started to rise, Whereas trade with Europe and the United States reopened. Additionally, to facilitate inventory of rough diamonds estimated at 2 billion dollars, the industry went for a voluntary ban on importing these precious stones.
Rough diamonds worth above 6,700 crore INR were imported earlier in the month of June 2019. In May 2020, the figure stood at approximately 610 crore INR.
Industry professionals were waiting for an immediate restoration until the pandemic Covid-19 hit them again. The Surat has reported 10,757 cases, as against 25,080 in Ahmedabad.
