Mumbai blasts: Surat fears it could be next target

Could the diamond markets in Surat, which are always bustling with thousands of diamond merchants and brokers, be a potential target of a terror strike? Considering the attack outside the diamond trading hub at Opera House in Mumbai on Wednesday, a similar attack in Surat wouldn’t be too farfetched an idea.

Diamonds worth several crores change hands every day in the narrow lanes of Mahidharpura Hira Bazaar and Varachha Mini Bazaar in Surat, but security in the markets is next to nothing, leaving the markets most vulnerable to any potential terror attacks.

“It is true that security arrangements needed in places like the diamond markets are missing in the case of Mahidharpura and Varachha diamond markets. There is an urgent need to strengthen security measures in and around the diamond hubs,” Pravin Nanavati, a diamond trader and former president of Surat Diamond Association, said.

“There are no security measures in the diamond markets. No cameras, no police, no snifer dogs, nothing. The damage could be unimaginable if anything goes wrong,” said Saurabh Shah, a diamond broker in Mahidharpura.

The local diamond association had in the past chalked out plans to install CCTVs in the markets, but the plan has failed. Lack of funds is the reason why CCTVs haven’t been installed in the cash-rich diamond markets.