Srinagar, December 05, 2019:The economy of Kashmir has suffered losses of Rs 15,000 crore since August 5, when the Indian government abrogated Article 370 provisions, a commerce body has said that this is just a conservative estimate due to continued lockdown and internet blockade imposed by India. The Indian Modi Government had repealed provisions of the article that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir and placed Kashmir under prison.
The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President, Sheikh Ashiq Hussain, in an interview in Srinagar said, this is just a conservative estimate and they will be coming up with a comprehensive data about the losses within a week. He said that every sector of business had been hit after the clampdown and internet ban in Kashmir since August 5. “The handicraft, tourism, IT industry, e-commerce sectors and carpet industry were the worst hit,” he said.
“Businesses have witnessed huge losses and all sort of activities have come down in the Valley post August 5. Though shops and business establishments are open for sometime till afternoon and public transport is also plying to some extent, internet ban has severely affected business activities in the Valley,” he said.
Postpaid cellphones and landlines are working in the Valley. SMS on postpaid phones are shut.
“The handicraft sector alone has witnessed over 50,000 people losing their jobs. The artisans were not getting any fresh orders in the absence of communication facilities.
“Even, the highly skilled artisans have been forced to look for odd jobs to meet their daily needs,” Sheikh Ashiq Hussain told media men.
He said, the hotel and restaurant industry has seen more than 30,000 people losing their jobs. “The e-commerce sector, which includes courier services for purchases made online, has seen 10,000 people losing their jobs. The hotel staff, houseboat owners, shikarawalas and transporters have been sitting idle or doing menial jobs. Weavers in Kashmir are now working as labourers to earn their livelihood,” he said.
Sheikh Ashiq Hussain stated that many new businesses were completely dependent on the internet. “As per the figures of handicrafts industry, orders for carpets, shawls, paper machie has come down by 62% than the previous years. We used to have bulk orders on the New Year and Christmas. Now there are no orders because the traders don’t have any access to the internet. Many new businesses especially start-ups are completely dependent on social media but they have not been able to access it due to the communications gag,” he added.“Our economy is completely based on the business community. We have only a few lakh of government employees in J&K and rest of our economy is completely dependent on different business sectors which are currently passing through very bad days,” the trade leader said.
The KCCI President said that many members of the trade community in occupied Kashmir had been detained. “Four months have passed and they have-not been released yet. The government should release them to restore peace in Kashmir. There can be no development or business activity when people are facing an uncertainty,” he maintained.