Diwali Season Hit: Surat Textile Industry Face Transport Crisis Due to Floods

Surat | Gujarat —As the Diwali season approaches, Surat textile trade is facing an unprecedented crisis. Heavy rains, floods, and landslides in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have disrupted road transport across North India, leaving about 100 trucks stranded and reducing Surat’s cloth shipments by 40%.

Where Surat traditionally sends around 300 trucks daily carrying cloth to North India, only 180 trucks are operating now, creating a shortfall of 120 trucks. Traders say this shortage is hitting them hard during the peak festive season.

“This is a huge blow to Surat’s textile trade,” said Ramesh Patel, a leading Surat textile trader. “The Diwali season is the busiest time for us, and we were expecting to send one train load of goods every day to meet demand. But due to heavy rains, landslides, and train cancellations, the system has collapsed.”

Heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. According to reports, more than 666 roads in Himachal Pradesh, including three national highways, are closed. Uttarakhand has seen damage to over 50 roads and two national highways, stranding hundreds of vehicles. This includes approximately 100 trucks from Surat loaded with cloth for traders in North India.

“This is not just about transport; it’s about survival for traders and workers,” said Devkishan Manghani, leader of textile traders in Surat.  “We had asked the railways for 22 goods trains during Diwali, but that did not happen. Now, with road transport disrupted and trains unavailable, traders are losing crores of rupees.”

The shortage is forcing traders to either delay deliveries or bear increased transport costs through alternate routes. Many smaller exporters are already reporting cancellations from buyers in North India due to delays.

“This year, the Diwali season was expected to be a major boost after tough times. But floods and lack of contingency transport plans have created a nightmare,” said Pooja Shah, a textile exporter in Surat. “We need immediate government intervention to open alternative transport routes and expedite train services.”