Srinagar, Sept 9: Like many other occupations coming under stress in the present unrest in Kashmir, the tailoring community is facing the heat on this Eid.
 With people vowing to observe this Eid with austerity, the tailors did not see much work coming at their shops. “Usually in the month of Ramadan we would be flooded by the customers with everyone showing urgency to get their new dresses stitched ahead of Eid,” said Muhammad Amin, a tailor from Sekidaffar, adding that this time around however, “there is no rush. “

 Muhammad Aziz, a senior tailor at Lal Chowk lamented that the work for tailors has shrunk around this Eid due to public strife in the Valley. Recalling the rush of previous Eid, he said: “There used to be great demand around Eid-ul-Fitr. But on this Eid because of the frequent curfews and strikes we are hardly able to open our shops so it has become impossible to take orders,” he added.
 The tailors said few people had approached them this Eid to get their suits stitched. “This is but natural. More than 70 youth were killed by the police and paramilitary forces during last two months. There is no Eid. No happiness. Who would go for stitching new clothes,” asked Muhammad Ibrahim, a tailor.

 Many tailors said they were not able to finish the small work that had come to them because of persistent shutdowns and curfews. “The customers are always eager to get back their stitched dresses quickly but this time we are not able to meet their deadlines because our shops remain closed. So most of them have preferred either not to make new dresses or have opted for readymade dresses,” said Safdar Hussain a tailor in a local market.

  “Normally on the eve of Eid I used to get around 600 suits for stitching but this time I have only 100. I have not guaranteed timely delivery to any of them,” said Muhammad Nayeem-U-Din of Mumbai Boutique at Khidmat complex, the Bund, here.

 Many tailors who engage outside workers said most of their workmen had moved back to their native places so they were not able to take any stitching orders presently.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 9 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 IST