Even as the markets have mostly remained shut for the past 44 days, there are no visible signs of resumption of a regular business activity in the Kashmir valley.
After the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8 that led to widespread protests, the business activity has remained confined to opening of a few shops selling groceries and other essentials in the wee hours. These shops then again shut by 8.30 am.
Though other shops had opened for a couple of days in the evening hours in the first week of August, the situation on the business front has now gone from bad to worse.
“For the first time after July 8, I had opened my shop in the evening of August 2. There was a hope that shops would at least remain open in the evenings so that we start doing some business. However, things are back to square one now,” said a shopkeeper, of city centre Lal Chowk.
While the shops had then opened briefly in the evenings following a “relaxation” in the shutdown and protest calendar of the separatists, the authorities are now enforcing a strict curfew.
The suspension of business activity in the Valley has also had a bearing on Jammu as the traders of the region have not been able to dispatch their goods to Kashmir. The Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI), Jammu, had even called for a shutdown for August 20 that was later deferred. The shutdown had been proposed after their Valley counterparts failed to give a positive response to the intra-region dialogue offer of the CCI, Jammu.
The talks offer mainly aimed at resumption of normal business between the two regions of the state. However, it seemed to have found no takers in the Valley. As a result, while the business activity in the Valley continues to remain hit, the traders of Jammu doing business with Kashmir too continue to face problems.
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Mushtaq Ahmad Wani said the intra-region dialogue offer of their counterparts in Jammu would not resolve anything and the government should talk to all stakeholders to find a permanent solution to all problems facing the state.
“There should be a permanent solution. The intra-region dialogue is not the solution and the Government of India should start a dialogue process with all stakeholders and offer unconditional talks,” said Wani.
No signs of resumption of business activity in Kashmir
