Surat, Dec 12 (KNN) The Diamond Worker Union (DWU) has urged the state government to provide an economic package for diamond artisans.

The Surat based union said that the artisans are facing financial crisis due to drop in work hours or job losses.

The DWU has demanded that the government resumes ‘Ratnadeep Yojna’, which had been started by PM Modi in his capacity as the chief minister in 2008-09 during the economic crisis in the diamond industry.

Aa per reports, Union members said they will go on an indefinite fast if their demands are not met.

In a memorandum given to Surat district collector Aayush Oak on Monday, the union demanded financial assistance to the families of those artisans who have ended their lives in the recent past. It also demanded abolition of professional tax being collected from the artisans.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the city for inauguration of the Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) on December 17.

DWU demanded that the package be announced when PM Modi inaugurates SDB. They has urged the government for economic support to the industry’s labour that helps the country earn a huge amount of foreign exchange.

“During the 2008-09 crisis, the Gujarat government had introduced Ratnadeep Kaushalya Samvardhan Prashikshan Sahayta Package, commonly known as Ratnadeep Yojna.

(KNN Bureau)