Shafaq Tanveer, a Srinagar-based young woman, started herbusiness of Pakistani embroidered suits under the name Meraki a year ago.Besides a brick and mortar store, Shafaq, taking advantage of social media,would also sell online and her business was doing well.
Majority of the stuffshe would sell would be sourced via cross-Line of Control trade taking placebetween two divided parts of Kashmir.
However, as the Central Government has suspended thecross-LoC trade indefinitely, she says, her dreams are shattered. The stuffShafaq and many other young entrepreneurs, mostly women, were selling has ahuge demand in Kashmir. After the LoC trade ban, it is not easy for them toprocure these embroidered suits.
Shafaq says even if they can order the stuff via Dubai,these suits become very expensive and unaffordable for the majority ofmiddle-class women. Besides, it takes a lot of time to reach Kashmir via thatcircuitous sea route.
These entrepreneurssay their inability to buy the stuff ahead of Eid season has put theirbusinesses in jeopardy.
“I started my store both online and offline a year back, wewere expecting a good turn over ahead of Eid next month, but most among us arealready running out of stock due to LoC trade ban. Those who have some productsin the store are about to exhaust putting us in the lurch” says Shafaq Tanveer,the 33-year-old owner of Meraki.
“If entrepreneurslike us will try to get products via an alternate route, that will eventuallyhike prices and everyone will be affected,” she says adding that there are manyother female entrepreneurs like her who are clueless about what steps are theygoing to take next to survive in the business.
Not only those who directly deal with these products butthose who work to provide logistics like courier services to theseentrepreneurs have also got hit.
Fast Beetle, a logistics service run by young entrepreneurduo, says that 50 percent of their partners are associated with LoCtrade-related products and the ban has hit them badly.
“Before the LoC trade ban we used to ship around 3,000products per month across many districts in Kashmir and after the ban was putin place, there is a 50 percent dip in our business,” say 28-year-old, SheikhSamiullah, founder of Fast Beetle.
“We started our venture only six months back with branchesin Srinagar, Ganderbal and Anantnag. We were going to open a new branch inSopore with extra staff but due to trade ban we had to shelve that plan fortime being,” he said.
These young entrepreneurs who get their products via LoCthrough wholesale traders say the stock available with these traders are nowselling it at high rates.
“The product that Iused to buy at Rs 3000 is costing me 3900 and on top of that, I can’t purchasenow as there are no stocks left. I used to buy more than 100 products in onepurchase, now getting 10 products is a big deal,” said Dawood Shah, who runs’Merani’, an offline and online store at Wazir Bagh, Srinagar.
These young entrepreneurs appealed the government for revokethe ban so that they can survive in the business.
Ministry of Home Affairs on April 16 ordered the suspensionof cross-LoC trade between India and Pakistan via Jammu and Kashmir followingreports of alleged misuse of the trade routes by Pakistan-based elements forthe illegal inflow of weapons, narcotics and currency.