Where’s the 13th Floor?

Most high-rise buildings don’t have the 13th floor in Surat

Surat: 10..11..12..14…. Don’t you believe there’s a number missing? Yes, you are correct. The practice of omitting number 13 is common in the real estate market since developers and buyers purchasing houses feel uncomfortable with it. The reason for this is that they believe the number 13 is unlucky.
Take the Surat Diamond Exchange (SDB), the world’s largest diamond bourse, which is set to open on a 66 lakh square foot site in Khajod’s Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City. For the convenience of the diamantaires who own their offices, all nine buildings with ground plus 15 storeys have been changed with number 14. The organisers skipped number 13 for the purchasers’ convenience. Thus the 15-story skyscrapers are now 16 stories.

“It is the notion that number 13 is unfortunate and is rooted on religion and numerology,” Mathur Savani, spokesperson for SDB diamond bourse limited, told TOI. We took extra effort to replace floor number 13 in the SDB project for the convenience of customers from our business. The same philosophy has been used to the numbering of parking lots and other infrastructure in the project.”

“Not all, but a majority of them firmly believe in superstition,” Savani replied when asked if the diamantaires are superstitious in numbering. On the 13th of the month, many people avoid doing business deals. It is deemed a practical business option to stop using this number.”
Former CREDAI-Surat president Velji Sheta stated, “Although it is not a common practice, some people, including agents and individual purchasers, think that bypassing number 13 is a good idea. Number 13 is not skipped at the expense of not using the allowed FSI. Currently, instead of 40 metres, the height of high-rise buildings is extended to 45 metres, and in such circumstances, individuals may forgo numbering the floors, but all of the FSI is used up.”

“We have numbered 13th floor with 14,” a representative for the realty firm that has come up with the city’s first multi-storey residential building in Vesu, which has 19 storeys. There are still those who believe in superstitions and follow them. As a result, as part of our wider culture and heritage, we have embraced the same system.”