States woo Surat's gem industry

 The Rs 50,000 crore diamond industry in Surat that reels under lack of proper infrastructure, is being wooed by various states which offer better facilities and advantages.

 Chief ministers of some states have already held talks with the prominent members of the industry, which has suddenly woken up to the threat of competition from China, urging them to set up diamond cutting and polishing units in their states.

 Many in the industry feel that if the Gujarat government failed to provide better infrastructure for this high-value industry, a steady shifting of the diamond units from Surat and Ahmedabad to other states cannot be ruled out in the near future.

 It all started with the visit of Ajit Jogi, the bureaucrat-turned chief minister of Chhattisgarh. Jogi was a frequent visitor to Gujarat after he took over as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh. Surat always figured prominently in his tour programme and there is no much politics in it.

 Jogi had even held meetings with the captains of the industry in Ahmedabad in last October.

 While he was in Surat for campaigning during the last assembly elections, he did not spare any opportunity to interact with the diamond cutting and polishing unit owners based in the city. Jogi had asked his senior officials to camp in these two cities and hold talks with the diamond industry.