Diamond hub back in biz

For the diamond traders at Zaveri Bazaar, it was business as usual starting Monday, less than a week after twin bomb blasts hit their trading hub in India's financial capital.

Prasad Chamber and Pancharatna Buildings were bustling with activity, with the police reopening the ‘khau gulli' (lane) that connects the two buildings, to pedestrian flow, even as vehicles were barred from entering the lane. Security has also been tightened with visitors being photographed and personal details sought before being let into the premises.

“The safety lockers in the buildings have been available for use. Assortment was carried out with angadia (the local courier service for sending diamonds) back at work. We estimate Rs 200-250 crore worth of business (took place) during the day. Most of the traders worked up to 9 pm on Monday,” said Mr Hardik S Hundiya, a diamond trade expert.

Diamond exports from Mumbai are estimated at over Rs 75,000 crore annually, but traders expect exports to take a hit in the coming days as many buyers have postponed their trips to India after the bomb blasts.

Tight security

Security in the Zaveri Bazaar area has to be tightened and restrictions imposed on parking, hawkers and roadside eateries, said Mr Mahendra Gandhi, Vice-President, Mumbai Diamond Merchants' Association, which has over 13,000 registered members.

“We will submit a detailed memorandum on the security issue to the Chief Minister, Union and State Home Ministers and the Police Commissioner. We will wait for the Government's response before deciding on deploying additional private security,” he said.

After being targeted thrice, the diamond trade is gearing up to shift from the narrow by-lanes of South Mumbai to the sprawling Bharat Diamond Bourse at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in the suburbs.

Around 2,000 of the 2,200 offices in the Pancharatna Building have been allotted space at the new premises and possession letters have been issued.

“Shifting of the trade is a process and it cannot happen overnight. Many of them have already moved to the Diamond Bourse. We expect the trade to shift in a year,” said Mr Gandhi.

Moving business to the BKC will not result in any revenue loss for traders as most of the offices at the diamond hub are self-owned.

Mr Sanjay Shah, Director, Nine Diam, which operates from the Pancharatna Building, said a major chunk of the diamond business would stay put at Zaveri Bazaar as most promoters live in Walkeshwar, which is 10-15 minutes away from Pancharatna. “It is not easy to shift the entire diamond trade from Zaveri Bazaar, which has about 7,000 offices spread over 30 buildings,” he said.

The BKC will be able to accommodate only 2,200 members, said Mr Hundiya, even though the association has 13,000 members. Apart from the lack of space, he said the other major reasons for the delay in shifting to BKC were due to connectivity and security concerns.

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