Goldsmiths hit by lockdown seek permission to reopen workshops

Coimbatore: Small-scale jewellery making goldsmiths on Big Bazaar Street on Monday staged a road-roko demanding permission to open the smithies, which have been closed for 10 days.
S Anandan, who owns a smithy on Big Bazaar Street, said they were asked to shut shops on July 10. “We run micro and small gold smithies, where a maximum of four to six people work. We sustain on small jewellery orders and on an average, earn Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 a day. Before shutting down, we had received orders, which we have completed halfway. Now, clients want us to deliver the orders or return their gold. We are unable to open our smithies to complete the work. Returning half-done work will cause loss,” he said.
Meanwhile, some goldsmiths said they were ready to wait till the district administration and the corporation allow them to open shops. President of the Coimbatore Goldsmiths’ Association S M Kamal Hasan said officials asked them to close the smithies considering the pandemic situation and they expect to open once the situation is under control. “Right now, health and safety are more important. Officials are conducting medical camps in areas that have more gold smithies. If the results are negative, they would allow us to open for business,” he said.
There are 25,000 micro and small gold smithies in the district.