Latest news with #DaxeshMavani
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Carats 2025: Surat Diamond Association organises diamond expo
Amid a slowdown in the diamond industry, buyers from different parts of India, the USA, Ukraine, Russia, and Dubai have been attending Carats 2025, an exhibition of loose polished diamonds and jewellery, organised by the Surat Diamond Association (SDA) at Avadh Uthopia in Surat. At the inauguration event on Friday, Mayor Daxesh Mavani said that Surat should now organise shopping festivals, similar to Dubai's, that will give a new identity to the city. The three-day exhibition will culminate on Sunday. The exhibition was inaugurated by Mavani in the presence of Rajya Sabha MP and diamond merchant Govind Dholakia and several other top players from the diamond and jewellery industries of Surat and Mumbai. In his inaugural speech, Mayor Mavani said, 'Dubai regularly organises shopping festivals. A similar festival should also be organised in Surat, where diamond, jewellery, textile and other industries can participate and that would attract buyers from India and abroad. The Surat Municipal Corporation and The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry can also be involved. This will give a new identity to Surat city.' MP Dholakia said, 'The industry is passing through a bad phase. Such an exhibition will give a boost to the industry. The volume and area of such exhibitions should be increased, and more and more people should participate.' Over 73 exhibitors, mainly from Surat and Mumbai, have booked stalls to put on display loose and polished natural, lab-grown diamonds (LGD), diamond-studded jewellery, allied machinery tools used in the diamond industry and diamond grading firms. The main attraction of the exhibition is two lab-grown diamonds, which are sold in pairs and weigh 38 carats each. Buyers from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Kerala, Chennai, and Cochin attended the event on Saturday. Surat Diamond Association president Jagdish Khunt said, 'A footfall of over 300 had been recorded on a single day. Over 30 foreign buyers had come down from the USA, Ukraine, Russia, Dubai, and visited the exhibition. Buyers from eight different states had come and made business deals with the exhibitors. We are getting an overwhelming response.' He further said: 'Last year, there were over 105 exhibitors — and 45 of them had diamond machinery allied tools. Following demands and suggestions from diamond businessmen, we have reduced the number of machinery exhibitors. This year, there are 73 stalls — 12 have machinery, 10 stalls have jewellery, and the remaining have loose polished diamonds of natural and LGD. Last year, the business done by exhibitors stood between Rs 70 crore and Rs 75 crore. This year, we expect the business to grow and stand around Rs 90-100 crore.'
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Skies Clear but Surat Swamped By Overflowing Creeks
Surat: The Diamond City was no stranger to torrential downpours but it's now becoming disturbingly familiar with waist-deep waterlogging that refuses to recede even days after the skies clear. The spell heavy rain that battered the city two days ago has turned into a full-blown urban as overflowing creeks swallowed roads, homes, offices, and markets. Entire neighbourhoods in Parvat village, Saniya Hemad, Puna, Simada, Limbayat and Pal remained inundated even as skies cleared up since Tuesday afternoon. In Limbayat, one of the worst-affected areas, floodwaters didn't just trap homes — they engulfed the SMC's own zonal office, leaving people without access to civic help for food, medicine and clean water. The textile market hub on Kadodara Road turned into a swamp, cutting off traffic and choking business. The city's struggle was laid bare in viral videos from Madhavgaug (Puna), where floodwaters burst through a hole in a protective creek wall — a breach ironically created by residents for draining sewage during dry spells. What was once a shortcut for waste has become a gateway for disaster. Despite deploying 1,289 sanitation workers, 23 earthmovers, and 44 trucks, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is desperately trying to pump out water but it keeps flowing back in. Mayor Daxesh Mavani toured the inundated areas and promised relief. "The heavy rainfall led to a massive influx of creek water into urban zones. Water levels are receding slowly, and our teams are working around the clock on sanitation and rescue," he told reporters. Around 9,257 food packets and 9,950 water bottles have been distributed. With thousands wading through filthy floodwater for days, 36 medical teams have been dispatched to set up health camps, 236 surveillance workers are screening residents for fever and infections. "We are distributing preventive medicines to stop diseases like leptospirosis. Clean water is also a priority, so ORS packets and chlorine tablets are being handed out," said a senior health official. Meanwhile, the vector-borne disease department has begun emergency surveys to contain any outbreak before it spirals.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Katargam residents protest SMC's land possession drive
Surat: Hundreds of residents from the Katargam area gathered outside the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Thursday, staging a dharna in protest against the civic body's move to take possession of land declared reserved under Town Planning (TP) schemes 49, 50, and 51. The protesters, many of whom have been residing in the area for over two decades, alleged that their residential societies have been unjustly marked as reserved plots following recent modifications to the TP schemes. A memorandum listing their demands was submitted to deputy mayor Naresh Patil, in the absence of mayor Daxesh Mavani. The residents argue that although their homes were not under any reservation for years, changes made to the TP schemes three years ago have now left them vulnerable to eviction and land acquisition. They are demanding that the possession process be immediately halted. Following the protest, BJP leaders took up the matter with Union jal shakti minister CR Paatil. "The minister assured us that no further steps will be taken to acquire the reserved land. He has also promised to raise the issue with the state government," said Narendra Pandav, a BJP municipal councillor. Pandav added, "Thousands of people are affected by these changes. We will urge the govt to investigate what went wrong and demand action against those responsible." In recent months, former Katargam BJP MLA Nanu Vanani, who also served as a minister of state in Anandi Patel's govt, has extended support to the residents. Vanani has led delegations and made multiple representations to various authorities on the issue.
