Surat Calls for 30 per cent Return to Work

(IDEX Online) - Indian government officials are under increasing pressure to allow up to 30 per cent of diamond workers in Surat to return to work.

The cut-and-polish hub has been dormant since the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed on 25 March.

Authorities 200 miles away in Mumbai last week said jewelry businesses there could allow up to 10 per cent of their workforce to return, as long as they were fulfilling existing orders and observed strict social distancing rules.   

The Surat Diamond Association and the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council are calling for work to resume in Surat (pictured) with up to 30 per cent of workers.

Industry leaders say they need a decision soon to prevent thousands of laid-off migrant workers returning to their homes in Surashtra.

The Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai has reopened and business is slowly resuming in India's key export markets - Hong Kong, China and UAE.