‘Diamond city’ of India loses its sheen, as Ukraine war disrupts supply chains
Representative image
The Gujarat Diamond Workers' Union has asked Gujarat's chief minister for a 10-billion-rupee ($128-million) relief package for workers who have lost their jobs as diamond supply chains have been disrupted due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
As reported by AFP, Union vice-president Bhavesh Tank said, "If the situation does not improve in the coming days, our workers will be compelled to commit suicide. Surat has given the world so much. Surat has scrubbed diamonds for the entire world but our diamond workers are now getting scrubbed."
"We can only pray to God that the war will end. If the war does not end, we don't know how bad things will get," he added.
Originally founded as a port city at the mouth of the Tapi river, Surat earned a reputation as the "Diamond City of India" in the 1960s and '70s. Some 90 per cent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in the bustling industrial city and elsewhere in the western state of Gujarat.
Traders in Surat's crowded Mahidharpura market openly trade diamonds worth millions of dollars on the streets each day, carrying the precious gems loose in paper wrappings.
"If it doesn't go through Surat, a diamond is not a diamond," said Chirag Patel, CEO of Chirag Gems.
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Russian mining giants like Alrosa traditionally accounted for over a third of India's rough diamonds, but supply has all but stopped because of Western sanctions.
For Chirag Gems, Russia was even more important, accounting for half the 900 "roughs" that his firm turns into dazzling gems that sell anywhere from $150 to $150,000.
"We are not getting goods from Russia because the payments system is stuck due to the war," Patel, 32, told AFP, saying he is trying to bridge the gap with supplies from South Africa and Ghana.
(with inputs from agencies)
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