For the last three years, the diamond industry is going through its worst phase. There is a risk of loss of employment of lakhs of diamond artisans of Gujarat. Why has this situation arisen and what is the way out of this? This has become a big question. After many years, diamond artisans have gone on a two-day strike in Surat. The war situation has stopped the consumption of diamonds for a long time. America and Europe are the biggest diamond buyers in the world but there is an atmosphere of recession there too. In such a situation, work has come to a standstill in Gujarat, the world's largest rough diamond polishing center. The workers' union has claimed that 63 diamond artisans have committed suicide in a year. There has been a huge decline in the working hours and wages of diamond workers.
Bhavesh Tak, deputy chief of Surat Diamond Works Union, says that diamond factory owners should increase the wages of workers. The government should also bring schemes for diamond traders.
The crisis in the diamond business is such that 40% of the diamond factories in Gujarat have shut down. There are 24 lakh artisans and 20,000 factories in Gujarat alone. There are more than 30 lakh diamond artisans across the country. In 3 years, 30-40% of the diamond factories in Gujarat have shut down. The work of diamond artisans has been reduced by 30% and their salary by 20%. According to experts, only the government can find a solution in such an environment.
Diamond expert Jeetubhai Mordia says that in 2008, Ratna Kalakar Board was formed, there was also Ratnasingh Yojana due to which diamond workers were very happy. In this difficult situation, only the government can find a solution. The government gets revenue worth crores of rupees annually from the diamond industry. But today the condition of the industry is bad and the industry is demanding relief from the government.
