WHO WILL COMPENSATE THE LOSS?

Apart from journalists, many localities raised similar concerns. They further added that not only the media industry is suffering, the internet shutdown was also a gag on their work and life. so is our business. Is this how innocent people are being treated?”

A father of five daughters, Gulzar says, he somehow manages to get food on the table twice a day, let alone three meals a day. “We are hardly able to manage food two times a day. Tourism was the only way for many of us in the valley to sustain. This is the peak season for tourists, but there is no one here,” he added. According to the data and analysis by experts in August and September 2018, 85,534 and 103,195 tourists, respectively, visited Kashmir. However, in 2019 these figures stood at 10,130 and 4,562 – an 88 per cent and 95 per cent drop, respectively. This decline has let the problem of unemployment come to the fore – a steep decline indeed!

The shikaras are rowed either by the canoe-owners themselves or rented out to rowers for around Rs 30,000 per season. A person can expect to make Rs 2-2.5 lakhs over the six-month tourism season. After rent and other costs, one would be still left with around Rs 1,80,000. However, that income has to be spread across 12 months. In the off-season, the shikara walas have no work, or they do odd jobs. This year, they haven’t managed to make a fraction of the expected income on which they rely year-round. “What are we to do? What is our future? What is the future of our kids?” Gulzar asked no one in particular, as he rowed the boat into the still waters of the Dal Lake.

Kashmir’s tourism and handicrafts sector are to a large extent dependent on the tourists and these two sectors contribute to the livelihood of a large chunk of the population. Since the lockdown, there have been approximately 1,44,500 job losses across these two sectors as per an estimate of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

Overall, commercial losses in the state caused in the aftermath of the August 5, have been pegged at over Rs 15,000 crore and total job losses at 4,96,000, as per KCCI estimates.

Commercial losses caused in the aftermath of August 5, have been pegged at over Rs 15,000 crore and total job losses at 4,96,000