Two textile agents vanish in Surat

Two textile commission agents have vanished from Surat, duping traders to the tune of Rs 3 crore. This comes as a fresh blow to the textile industry, which has just started reopening after the Diwali vacation.

Sri Srinivas Enterprise, the first commission agent to have vanished, was located at Sagar Shopping Centre in Ring Road. The firm was open on Saturday, but has remained closed since Monday. The firm is estimated to have duped traders of Rs 2.50 crore.

The second commission agent was run in the Fudnawadi area of the city. The name of the firm is not known as yet. The firm is believed to have caused losses of Rs 25-30 lakh.

Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) vice-president Devkishan Manghani said, "The textile markets have just started opening after the Diwali holidays. The trend is worrisome, but we fear there could be a few more such instances in the coming days."

"The vanishing firms are hurting the textile industry badly, as in most cases it is the small traders and weavers who are losing money. There is only one way of curbing these instances - by bringing self-discipline. They will have to ensure that they enter into deals only after a proper verification of the firm," Manghani added.

The federation president Mahendra Saluja said: "The traders and weavers of Surat have lost over Rs 200 crore due to the vanishing firms in the last 12 months. In my opinion this will be good for the textile industry in the long run. All the cheats and fraudsters would be filtered because of these instances and only genuine firms and traders will remain in the industry. This will be good for the industry in the coming years."