278: Layoffs & Worker Suicides: What’s Ailing Surat’s Diamond Industry? - a podcast by The Quint

Diwali is just a month away! Fireworks, sweets...jewellery, it's what the festival of lights is ALL about. But in Gujarat's diamond city of Surat, this diwali won't be bright.

At least five people who work in Surat’s diamond in the city have taken their own lives in recent weeks. Two of these suicides happened just this week.

And with thousands of diamond workers left unemployed in Surat, the festival of lights is going to be dark in the diamond city.

On this edition of The Big Story, we explore Gujarat’s Diamond Industry Crisis.

According to the Surat Diamond Workers’ Association, 25 lakh diamond polishers are spread across Gujarat. Out of this, around 66,000 people have been laid off in recent weeks.

Some reports claim that nearly one lakh workers have been laid off in Gujarat’s diamond industry from December 2018.

You’ll hear from them on this podcast.