Unrest brings Jammu’s economy to its knees

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 26

The 50-day unrest in the Kashmir valley has brought Jammu’s economy to its knees, with every sector—be it industry, trade, hotel or tourism—facing worst economic crisis in the region.

The prevailing situation has jeopardised the employment opportunities of thousands of youth in the region as industrialists and traders believe that it could take at least two consecutive financial years to recover from the losses they have suffered so far. Many of business establishments, including hotels and industrial units, have lowered their staff strength.

The industrialists are in a catch-22 situation due to high production losses and payment of fixed monthly expenses. “The industrial sector is in a very miserable condition in Jammu as it is difficult for us (industrialists) to pay fixed monthly expenses. The industrial sector of Jammu has been suffering a loss of about Rs 100 crore per day and it comes around Rs 5,000 crore since the eruption of violent protests in Kashmir on July 8. Nearly 70 per cent sale of our products is in the Kashmir and Ladakh regions where now it is difficult to transport goods,” said Annil Suri, a noted industrialist and former president of Bari Brahmana Industrial Association.

He said the unrest had proved like a “natural calamity” for industrialists of Jammu and the state government should act accordingly. “Some relief measures need to be announced to save the industry and for this, the state government should at least defer the date of payment of term loans and electricity bills,” he said. Similarly, the losses of Jammu’s hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants and lodges in Katra town, have been worked out at around Rs 350 crore till date and the figures are piling up with every passing day. “All advanced bookings have been cancelled by visitors and tourists while we have received no fresh bookings since the start of the unrest in the Kashmir valley. There is zero occupancy in our hotels. There are around 300 hotels and lodges in Jammu district alone which have suffered a cumulative loss of about Rs 250 crore so far. The situation is worsening with every passing day,” said Inderjeet Singh Khajuria, president of Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association.

Rakesh Wazir, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association, Katra, said nearly 450 hotels and restaurants in the town had suffered losses of about Rs 100 crore while the overall losses of Katra’s economy was pegged at Rs 500 crore so far.

“Another major issue is that the prevailing situation has rendered thousands of persons working in different business establishments jobless,” he said.

Neeraj Anand of the Chamber of Traders' Federation, said, “A single visit to any market of Jammu is self-explanatory of crippled business activity here. Every trader—be he from trade, tourism or hotel industry--has been crying. Leave aside this financial year, it will be very difficult for traders to recover their losses during the next financial year as they are running in several thousands of crores.”

“While traders of the Kashmir valley would be compensated for the losses incurred by them, Jammu traders have seldom been paid for any loss. Industrial houses are unable to plan for production due to unrest, while traders have been forced to go for discounts in the form ‘sales’ amid peak season,” he added.

Rajesh Gupta of the Traders' Federation, Ware House, Jammu, said, “Business has come to a standstill, while the payments of traders have been completely blocked due to closure of banks in the Kashmir valley. As per estimates, nearly Rs 1,000 crore of Jammu’s trading community was blocked with Kashmir traders. We conduct trade mainly with the people in the Valley and it has been affected due to the unrest. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s statements have brought a ray of hope that normalcy will return soon and the traders will be able to re-start their business activity.”