Diamond workers from Thakkarbapanagar in Ahmedabad poured out into city streets on Wednesday, to protest the civic body's sealing campaign.
Diamond workers from Thakkarbapanagar in Ahmedabad poured out into city streets on Wednesday, to protest the civic body's sealing campaign. As a result of the AMC's drive to seal illegal constructions in the city, nearly 10,000 diamond workers have lost their daily wages.
The municipal corporation has sealed some 10 commercial complexes in Thakkarbapanagar and Bapunagar areas of the city in fifteen days, as part of its sealing drive, and as per the schedule submitted to the Gujarat high court.
However, Thakkarbapanagar is considered the diamond hub of Ahmedabad, and there are hundreds of diamond polishing units in these areas. These diamond workers are daily wage earners, and do not get a fixed monthly salary. They earn in the range of Rs250 to Rs500, depending on their skills and speed of working.
Now, with the diamond polishing units sealed, these diamond workers are set to suffer endlessly. And this, despite the fact that they are not the real culprits. A majority of the diamond units have been taken on rent, and even the diamond unit owners know little about legality issues.
"I fail to understand why the workers have to suffer, because they are working in a unit located in a building that was illegally uilt around 15-20 years ago," rued Suman Patel, a diamond worker.
The workers had just returned to work after a long Diwali break, and now, they are suffering a massive setback. "We advised the diamond workers to form a committee and approach the high court," said Vinod Jogani, president of the Ahmedabad Diamond
Association.
On the other hand, a fraction of diamond workers are demanding action against AMC officials, who did not control construction of illegal buildings in the area. "The civic body should have taken action against the officials responsible for such illegal construction," said Narsi Patel, president of Vivekanand Diamond Association. He added that thousands of diamond workers have become unemployed because of AMC's sealing drive, and so the state government and the civic body should make arrangements for alternate employment of these diamond workers.
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