Surat Diamond Industry Resumes Operations Slowly

Surat: With daily COVID-19 cases stabilising in Surat and Unlock 3.0 set to kick in, the diamond industry in this Gujarat city is slowly resuming operations. The civic authorities have allowed a maximum of two diamond polishing workers at each table, against the earlier practice of four, based on an industry representation.

Surat, which is estimated to polish nine of 10 rough diamonds in the world, has been reeling from the pandemic with a flurry of positive cases bringing its diamond polishing industry to a near standstill.

Soon after Unlock 1, the industry — resumed operations, but a surge in cases at diamond polishing cluster, especially in Katargam and Varachha, forced units to go into a voluntary lockdown, which continued until recently.