At a two-day convention, where over 1,000 goldsmiths and their artisans from various parts of the state and Karnataka and Gujarat met, goldsmiths expressed concern about the bad trade practices by jewellers and big bullion traders which was affecting their oldest profession. According to Sohanlal Verma, the general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Suvarnakar Samaj (Delhi), some of the non-traditional goldsmiths entered their business after the withdrawal of Gold Control Act in 1990 and were interested only in profiteering and selling the gold below the standard purity.

Goldsmiths have resolved that government should make it compulsory to all the jewellers/sarafs and gold businessmen to put a correct hallmark of gold on every ornamentsand conduct routine checks in the gold shops.

Verma said that non-traditional goldsmiths are making huge profits by selling impure gold to the customers. ``But when it comes to us for melting we find it of low quality. However, these people (big gold jewellers and sarafs) are putting blame on us, for making such ornaments which are actually sold by them.''

Prabhudas Jadia, president of Akhil Bharatiya Suvarnakar Samaj, said, ``Honesty and reliability is our motto and we have continued this business for several generations. We also expressed concern that illegal trade practices in the business had forced their second generation out of their traditional business resulting in unemployment.'' There are nearly 80 lakh goldsmiths all over India including about five lakh in Maharashtra.

Even after the use of machinery for making ornaments have been started, there are certain ornaments like mangalsutra, mohanmal, chaplahaar, thushi (Kolhapur), gold bangles, patlya, painjan are being manufactured traditionallyby goldsmiths and their artisans. The work done by them is incomparable, said Dattaji Ghosalkar, one of the oldest traditional goldsmith from Mumbai.

While delivering his inaugural speech, Verma urged the Centre to set up a separate gold ministry in the union government.