Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Feb 9: Hundreds of shopkeepers in Panthchowk on the outskirts of Srinagar, who were enlisted for relief alongside other valley shopkeepers who incurred losses during the devastating floods of 2014, are yet to get compensation despite the passage of nearly seven years.
According to the shopkeepers, there are at least 800 shopkeepers in the Tehsil who have been enlisted by the administration after being verified by all competent officials, but help is yet to arrive. The shopkeepers were intended to benefit from the government’s Rs. 80,000 flood relief package, which was announced shortly after the floods. “It has been seven years since the floods caused losses to the shopkeepers, but the government is yet to compensate us. I do not know why we are not getting anything when the rest of the shopkeepers and traders have been paid a long time back, “a shopkeeper explained.
Around 80 shops at Pathachowk bus yard that sell car parts and machinery were also registered for the aid package, but an unanticipated delay in the distribution has upset them. “Everyone was relieved, yet we went unnoticed. The devastating floods ruined all of our things and machines, but the government is unconcerned about us,” Abdul Wahid, a trader, said.
Shopkeepers from Lasjan and Athwajan expressed similar worries, claiming that the government boasted about the aid package provided to the affected shopkeepers, but that the government’s indifference to them has failed the entire gesture. “How can a small business like ours get back on its feet when the government has been postponing support for the past seven years?” Mohammad Yaseen, a shopkeeper from Lasjan, said.
Officials from Panthachowk’s Tehsil administration said that the traders have a real need and that they have verified their cases and found them to be authentic. “We forwarded the list to the district administration office in Srinagar in 2016,” an officer remarked.
When contacted, an official at the district office in Srinagar told Excelsior that they had already raised the issue with the concerned officials and were awaiting a response.
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