Diamond merchants come to colleagues' aid

The families of Bombay Diamond Merchants' Association members who lost their lives in the recent bomb blasts in Mumbai, will receive a grant of Rs 1 lakh from the Association.

Additionally, the Association will also extend aid to its industry colleagues who were injured in the blasts.

According to sources, nearly 20-25 members of the industry died and another 30 were injured in the terrorists' attack.

Surprisingly, no shops remained closed despite such a huge number of casualty.

"We worked all days, including on Wednesday, but the attendance was comparatively less as employees were frightened due to the attack," said Navin Mehta, president of the Association.

Sanjay Kothari, a diamond trader, supported Mehta's views by adding that ban was not a solution to the problem. "Rather we can work more and help the bereaved family."

The diamond jewellery industry suffers the most in such attacks as daily wage workers cannot travel to their work areas.

As many as 60 per cent of the workers in the industry work on daily wage basis.

"In case of closure, the workers lose their daily wage. The industry does not suffer monetarily directly as the production loss and exports commitments are still met through other means," said Siddharth Kedia, general manager at Suashish Diamonds.