LUCKNOW Jewellery traders and workers associated with Lucknow’s sarafa industry staged a protest at Powerhouse crossing in Ashiana on Monday, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for postponing purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year to save foreign exchange amid the West Asia crisis. They claimed the remarks could severely affect the city’s traditional jewellery trade and the livelihoods dependent on it.
Raising slogans, members of the Lucknow Sarafa Association said the statement triggered anxiety within the jewellery market at a time when traders were already struggling with rising gold prices, weak consumer demand and economic uncertainty. Police personnel were deployed at the site to maintain order, though the protest remained peaceful throughout.
According to traders, Lucknow has nearly 6,000 sarafa and jewellery establishments employing thousands of workers directly and indirectly. Association members claimed that around 30,000 families depend directly on the trade in the city, while over one lakh families are indirectly associated with the sector through craftsmanship, polishing, transportation, designing and allied activities.
Lucknow Sarafa Association president Manish Kumar Varma said public appeals discouraging gold purchases could impact retail demand and place additional pressure on small and medium traders.
“If people stop purchasing gold, how will jewellers and their employees survive? Thousands of workers are dependent on this trade. Will the government provide salaries to these families if business collapses,” Varma asked.
Traders argued that gold in India is not merely viewed as a luxury commodity but also as a traditional financial safeguard and long-term household investment, especially during periods of economic uncertainty.
Chowk Sarafa Association general secretary Vinod Maheshwari said the remarks could hurt smaller traders while larger organised players may continue to dominate the market.
“This sector supports artisans, craftsmen, polish workers, transporters and small designers. If market sentiment weakens, medium and small traders will gradually disappear,” Maheshwari said.
Several traders participating in the protest also pointed to the fact that governments and central banks across the world continue to maintain and increase gold reserves, arguing that the metal retains strategic and financial significance globally.
Association members submitted a memorandum highlighting the contribution of the sarafa trade to employment generation and local economic activity. They urged policymakers to differentiate between reducing non-essential imports and discouraging an entire domestic trade ecosystem that sustains lakhs of workers across the country.
