Surat is yet to recover from the blows of demonetization and GST. India’s polyester capital has suffered more than five lakh job losses and an estimated 40 per cent plunge in production.

The entire polyester value chain from yarns to garments is under pressure. The withdrawal of high-value banknotes put sudden brakes on the disposable income of consumers, with grave consequences. Textiles have been almost erased from customers’ priority list. Shops which usually gear up for the forthcoming wedding season wear a dull look.

Surat ushered in the polyester revolution in the country, offering saris and dress material at Rs 125. Surat boasts of 7,00,000 looms that make the grey fabric bought by 65,000 traders. The grey fabric would go to the 400 dyeing and processing houses and get routed to embroidery units for embellishments for the final garment.

Now the city presents a sorry picture. The migrant workforce has been sent packing to their states — Orissa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar — and those who remain behind are desperate for work. Almost 4,00,000 women who would earn Rs 300 to Rs 800 a day by working from homes —sewing, stitching or pasting diamonds and other embellishments on fabric — have no work.