Click to play videoSurat: One of the fallout of the financial crisis is it has hit the diamond market in India. But it's not just trade, it's also hit the education of over a lakh children in Surat.
10 year old Jhanvi Pore's parents do not know for how long she can continue to go to school Jhanvi's fees have not been paid for the past three months. Her father is jobless because the diamond polishing industry is in a crisis.
"The entire family is dependent on income from the diamond industry. We have not been able to pay fees and there are so many other problems as well," says Maya Pore.
Like Jhanvi, there are about a lakh and a half children of diamond workers who study in about 150 schools in Varachha and nearby localities of Surat. The school trustees however have been considerate enough to let them pay the fees in installments.
"Most students are children of diamond workers and 70 per cent of students here have not paid fees for some time now. But we are being considerate in such cases," says Principal, Rachna School, Mansukh Patel.
In Surat only 25 per cent of the 9000-odd diamond units are presently working. The crisis has been worsened with the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council's directive asking firms not to import rough diamonds until December 31.
"Owners of units should have anticipated this in advance and should have kept some funds aside. More workers will lose jobs over the next few months," says Director, Indian Diamond Institute, K K Sharma.
Like the Pore family, a few thousand families in Surat now wait for better times, and a better future for their children.
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