Jobless diamond workers find new glitter in farming

Rajkot: Rajesh Thummar had returned to his native village, Abhrampar in Savarkundla taluka of Amreli district, from Surat last March soon after the lockdown was imposed. In June, he was called back again by his employer following lockdown relaxations.
However, the gloom in the units owing to the pandemic and the threat of virus spread didn’t suit Thummar, who chose to come back to Amreli and start farming activities. And he isn’t the only polisher.
Many more like him have expressed their decision of not to go back until after Diwali vacations.
“The units were operating for a few hours in a week only and so we weren’t earning sufficient amount. This year the rain is good and I am hoping that I will be able compensate my loss of income from diamond polishing to some extent,” Thummar told TOI. The polisher-turned-farmer has already sown groundnut and cotton in 10 bigha each.
Going by Amreli district administration’s estimate, nearly 1.5 lakh people have returned to Amreli in the past few months with a bulk of them being from Surat alone.
Lalit Thummar, president of Amreli District Diamond Association said, “After Unlock 1.0, many workers went back to Surat last month, but soon realized that staying in the city was very expensive.”
He further explained that in villages they have their own homes while vegetables and even milk comes for free during monsoon season. The other main reason is due to schools being still closed.
The workers feel they will earn better from their farms especially groundnut cultivation, as it’s a political commodity and the state government declares higher minimum support price (MSP) for the produce every year.
Last year the state government procured groundnut at Rs 1,018 per 20kg, which was Rs 200-250 higher than the market price.
Kamlesh Patel another diamond worker of Savarkundla who returned in March said, “We will review the Covid situation and its impact on the industry before deciding to go back to Surat.”
A diamond worker earns around Rs30,000 depending on his skills in Surat. As, the income from agriculture depends on monsoon, these workers hire labourers for their farms, while the elders take care of the farming.