Kashmir traders warn of adverse impact of lockdown, seek stimulus

‘Hospitalisation rates, not case count, should determine restrictions’

Facing prolonged spells of lockdowns since 2019, traders in Kashmir resort to lay-offs, sale of manufacturing units and switch to businesses of daily consumables to survive the nose-diving incomes, as the authorities continue to impose a 64-hour weekend lockdown.There are growing voices among the traders’ body on Saturday which seek a review of the lockdown practice.

Niyaz Ahmad, a resident of the old city’s Rajouri Kadal, has shut his high-end kitchenware shop and sells eatables in a mobile van in the interiors of Srinagar city.

“People seem to have stopped spending on luxury items. I sell eatables and plastic items in the interiors of the city where police crackdown on shopkeepers is less. I have two daughters, one in college and another about to get married later this year. If the lockdown continues, I am not sure if I can pay the college fee and have my daughter’s wedding,” Mr. Ahmad said.