Outside SMHS hospital here, Iqbal Ahmed Malik sells facemasks and PPE kits.
Malik, who was forced to close his tea stall in the wake of COVID19 pandemic, switched over to this business recently.
Manzoor Ahmad Khan, who too ran a tea stall, and Khursheed Ahmed, an artisan, have also switched over to new business of facemasks and PPE kits.
Shifting to new business has helped the trio to survive the economic stress that hit their set businesses in the wake of pandemic.
Malik, in his new venture, has been joined by his two brothers whose business of stitching trousers and jackets has also take a hit.
“Now they make masks and PPE suits,” Malik says.
For Khan, COVID19 has only added to his miseries. He had already suffered losses after Batamaloo Bus Stand was relocated to Parimpora.
For these three young men, selling protective gears has been the only silver lining in the hard economic situation in Kashmir that started with the lockdown and communication blockade after the Article 370 revocation.
The three have also to contend with the occasional action by the hospital staff, which forced them to leave the premises to prevent the spread COVID19 spread.
“They chase us but we come back,” Malik said. “This is about livelihood. Where will we go? The government has no policy for us.”