Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 6: With dark clouds hovering over commencement of Shri Amarnath Yatra and pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, the dry fruit dealers of Jammu have claimed losses over Rs 125 crores in the peak months of June and July.
The dealers said that June and July months are summer vacation period and unprecedented rush of pilgrims is witnessed every year in Jammu due to pilgrims reaching here for Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and Amarnath Yatra, but this year in view of Corona Virus pandemic, the market has already suffered huge losses and in these two months, over Rs 125 crores of business will get affected.
“Firstly the COVID and now doubts over start of two major pilgrimage have broken our backbone,” Jyoti Gupta, president, Jammu Dry Fruit Retailers Association said.
Devotees of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and Baba Amarnath who reach Jammu have first choice of dry fruits as these shops not only offer prasad of Mata and Baba Bhole Nath, but famous nuts, almond, saffron, rajmash and basmati rice of Jammu and Kashmir are being carried by the visitors to their respective places.
“There are about 80 dry fruit shops in Jammu, while Katra is having more than 400,” he said and added that in this season, where the daily turnover of dry fruit in Jammu is about Rs 40 to 50 lakh rupees, in Katra this figure is about Rs one crore to Rs 2.5 crores.
But, this time due to corona, the traders associated with this business have to suffer loss of several hundred crores, the dealer added.
At the same time, the concern of the traders associated with this trade is that it is clear that the war against Corona pandemic is going to be a long process and in such a situation, these businessmen claimed that the current year has brought more losses to them.
They however, have appealed to the central government for some financial package to these dealers to meet at least some percent of losses they have suffered.
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