Srinagar, June 6: From liquidity crunch to business losses, Kashmir’s business community is in dire-strait facing the heat of ongoing Covid induced restrictions, resultant in piling of financial losses and job cuts in the private sector.
Kashmir business community is under pump from the last three years as the different cycles of lockdowns and restrictions in Kashmir has curtailed their business activities, be it restrictions in 2019 following abrogation of article 370 or Covid-19 induced restrictions from the last two years.
“Our problems are compounded by different factors which are not in our hands. Since 2019, we have witnessed an approximate lockdown for 22 months, in this situation what chance does a businessman stand. There is liquidity crunch as major population is not earning due to Covid,” said President Kashmir Traders and Manufactures Federation, Muhammad Yaseen Khan.
“Our business sector is hit hard, there is hardly any business. Businessmen are facing a burden of bank loans, and interests are piling up. It is difficult to meet expenditure leaving aside revival of businesses,” he said adding that “government has to come forward in a big way. Cosmetic measures won’t do this time as our economy is in dire-straits. We pay taxes, it is the responsibility of the government to help the business community when they are in distress.”
President, Retailers Association, Kashmir chapter, Farhan Kitab said that dragging of lockdown has dented the non-essential retail sector badly. “We understand that Covid has wreaked havoc across the globe, but there is a need to understand that livelihood is also important. We have come to such a stage that if the government won’t announce a massive revival package which would cover non-essential retail traders as well, many shops will be shut, which will lead to further increase in jobs.”
“Government must act fast as the business community is suffering silently, there is need to address the burning issue of how to lift the business community back as they are not suffering for their own faults, but by the fact that they have been hit by financial miseries which accompanied Covid,” Kitab said adding that so far there has been no concrete measure from the government side.
President, Kashmir Traders Association, Ajaz Ahmad Shahdar said that given the situation traders have unanimously demanded concessions from the government in electricity fees, bank interest and other taxes, saying that even after a month of business activities; the working days have been limited to one day a week.
Shahdhar said that during the last two years most of the business activities in the Valley came to a standstill and the traders suffered heavy losses. “Same trend continued for the third year and the business was shut down again due to the Covid lockdown.”
He said that traders are not against the procedures and rules for dealing with Covid, but the administration should also take care of the small shopkeepers, whose only source of livelihood is trade.