On 8 December only 20-25% units opened largely due to Mumbai terror attack. By 15 December almost 50% of the units resumed work, C P Vanani, president, Surat Diamond Association told JCKIndia.com. The workers this year had been given 40 days leave as opposed to 20 day norm due to low demand for polished diamonds.
He added that out of the 5 lakh diamond polishing workers only 25% have reported to work. However, he said that it is not a cause of great concern as it takes time for things to get back to normal after vacations.
“Normal work will resume by the end of December and we are looking forward to a good year ahead,” he added.
Surat is India’s hub for diamond processing industry and generates an annual revenue of about Rs60,000 crore. The fiscal crisis in the US affected the diamond polishing units as nearly 50% of loose polished diamonds are exported to the US from India.