Diamond workers set to return home

TNN | May 6, 2020, 04:59 IST

Surat: Exodus of the diamond workers from Surat is set to begin on Thursday with district administration approving the intrastate travel following nod from the state government.
The decision to this effect was taken at the meeting chaired by state forest minister, Ganpat Vasava, state health minister Kumar Kanani and Gujarat’s commissioner of municipalities, Mahendra Patel in the presence of the representatives from Surat Diamond Association (SDA) and the luxury bus operators association at the district collector’s office on Tuesday.
There are about five lakh people from Saurashtra and North Gujarat working in diamond units of Surat. Industry sources believe that nearly one lakh workers have already reached their home towns in Saurashtra soon after the lockdown was first announced in March last week.
In the present arrangement, sources are expecting another 2 lakh workers to return to their natives in Saurashtra and North Gujarat.
The administration issued a set of guidelines for the movement of workers within the state, especially Saurashtra and North Gujarat. They will have to compulsorily travel in the private buses and that the bus operators will have to apply for the vehicle passes online with complete details of passengers travelling to the specific destinations starting from Wednesday.
Vasava said, “Like the migrants from other states, workers from within the states will be able to travel to their home districts from Thursday. For the first few days, the private buses will be allowed for transporting workers within the state. We will allow the movement of the people in private cars and GSRTC buses at a later stage,” he added.
Each passenger will have to pay the bus fare, which could be between Rs500 and Rs600 from his own pocket.
President of SDA, Babu Kathiriya, meanwhile, killed rumours about the diamond trade not starting for another year due to Covid-19 crisis.