People miss Delhi news fix, vendors lose income

SRINAGAR: “Indian newspapers” are read and followed in large numbers all over Kashmir, especially Srinagar. But that habit has taken a hit, with the curfew affecting readers and those in the newspaper business alike.

Hilal Khan, a newspaper agent, says he would “earn `9,000-`10,000 a month. Now that’s a big hole. My phone rings all day. Customers keep asking us to hazard a guess when they are likely to get the paper next”.

National dailies are delivered to the Valley through air or land routes. “But the road to the airport is under curfew. Suppose I was to source newspapers, where would I distribute them? Few people are out on the streets,” says Parvez Rather, a newspaper agent.

However, Khan says that Kashmiris don’t like reading papers that come through land, via Jammu and Chandigarh; they want national perspective. “They follow the drift of news and opinion that come from Delhi and for that you have to access the airport,” he says.

Young Kashmiris appearing for civil services exam are a sizeable client base. “A lady recently threw a tantrum when I offered her a national paper (The Hindu) for `13. She said, ‘Have I come to buy a car or a newspaper?’ The fact is it cost `13 even before the curfew but now tempers run high because of the tension.”

The circulation of local newspapers increased. “The present antiIndia sentiment is also pushing up their sales but the price also helps,” says Saadiq (name changed), a distributor. “Greater Kashmir costs `5, Kashmir Reader and Rising Kashmir both cost `3.”