Surat: Surat - Gujarat's second-largest city, that recorded the ninth-highest GDP in India in 2012, is growing rapidly and new flyovers are being constructed every month. The diamond city is commended for best utilising the Centre's JNURM funds.
The city is also known for its women entrepreneurs. Bhartiben from Ankleshwar picks up her monthly stock of saris from a wide array available at Surat's textile market and takes them back home. Bharti has five shops that cater solely to women's wear. What started as a small business venture to get some extra income is now a full fledged business. "I started my business 8 years ago with Rs 10,000 and 100 sarees. My business has come a long way since then," says Bhartiben.
Just like Bharti and the sheen of the fabric she buys, the glitter of the precious stone has also lifted thousands of families out of poverty, giving them new wealth and hope, not to forget a political edge. Nine out of ten diamonds worldwide are polished here. Surat is home to a significant number of Leuva Patel diamond traders and workers from Saurashtra. The traders and workers together form a formidable force not only in pockets of Surat.
Just a few days before the vote is cast, all eyes were on the community's latest show of strength. At a gathering of the Khodaldham Trust site in Surat, ostensibly a religious function, its chairman Naresh Patel was weighed in silver....
07:53 PM, Dec 10, 2012
