Thursday, March 7, 2013

Diamantaires Flourish In Saurashtra With 24X7 Electricity

Guj powers rural sparkle

Diamantaires Flourish In Saurashtra With 24X7 Electricity


Amreli/Surat: Not too long ago, a creepy silence would prevail in Abhrampara village near Amreli during the daytime too. The main market shut by 5pm and most young men were in Surat, 500 km away, in search of jobs. The aged and the infirm were left to fend for themselves.
    It was no different in Bagoya, Adsang, Bagda and many other villages in this belt. Erratic power supply had left farmers without work and the diamond cutting and polishing industry had broken down, triggering large-scale migration. But nine years on, these villages are bustling with business, and life.

    Diamond units, most of which operate from the houses, see hectic activity, thanks to 24 X 7 power supply ensured by the Jyotigram Yojana. Youth have returned to their native villages and many like Jatin Nasid, once a diamond polisher in Surat, now employ people.
    “I used to earn around Rs 7,000 a month in Surat,”
Nasid says. “But I returned two years ago and started my own unit here.” He has 25 polishers working for him these days.
    Saurashtra has become a hub for Surat to outsource
the stones from, processed as they are in nearly 8,000 units in and around Amreli and Bhavnagar.
    The single-cut diamonds,
priced at Rs 10,000-15,000 per carat, have a huge market in both India and the US. The turnover: Rs 10,000 crore.
    “There were around two lakh diamond workers
in these two districts about eight years back, which has now gone up to nearly three lakh due to new job creations,” says Chandu Sheta, senior office-bearer of the Surat Diamond Association .
    “Many of them are those who quit their jobs in Surat.” No wonder then that Surat diamantaires are also opening more units in the Saurashtra region.
    Bhupat Patel, chairman of Jogani Diamond Exports, has set up three units in Liliya village of Amreli in just the past four years. Naresh Gabani, a diamond unit owner in Mahidharpura, explains why this is happening. “Earlier, we faced a lot of difficulties because of the power situation. Now, though, we are getting round-the-clock electricity. I have been able to employ over 50 diamond workers from my village.”
    Generators were a common sight in these parts even 6-7 years ago. “But they are seldom used now,” says Vitthal Mendapara, president, Bhavnagar Diamond Association. “In Bhavnagar district
alone, the diamond industry provides employment to more than 1.5 lakh people, mostly from the rural areas. Even women are acquiring cutting and polishing skills and adding to their household income.”

GLITTERY AGAIN: Erratic power supply had left farmers without work and the diamond cutting and polishing industry had broken down, triggering large-scale migration. But nine years on, these villages are bustling with business and life


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