The dwindling cricket bat manufacturing industry in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district has made minimal recovery since its infrastructure was hit by the last year’s floods.
More than 50 cricket bat manufacturing units — operating from Halmulla and Sangam villages along the Srinagar-Jammu highway — are struggling to recuperate their business as little help has come from the government.
The industry was already grappling with dislocation due to the widening of highway when the floods created havoc last year.
Most of the bat manufacturers incurred heavy losses during the deluge and more than a dozen units have been unable to restart manufacturing process. “I had an average annual turnover of Rs 15 to 20 lakh. It has come down to zero,” Abdul Hameed Dar of Super Style Sports told . Dar said it was the first time ever that he has not filed tax returns.
Some bat manufacturers, to compensate the losses, have now doubled their showrooms as tea-stalls.
