Suhail Bhat
Srinagar June 22: Over 300- vendors who earn their livelihood by selling merchandise to tourists on the waters of famous Dal Lake here are finding it hard to make their ends meet as coronavirus pandemic has pushed the tourism industry to back foot in the Valley.
The resurgence of the second wave of the COVID-19 has badly hit the Kashmir tourism industry and people associated with it have been out of work. The hawkers who used to earn their livelihood by selling shawls, jewellery, and other handmade items in their Shikaras are facing a severe cash crunch. With nowhere to go, these small-time traders are looking up to the Government for financial support to survive.
“We have been facing problems since the devastating floods of 2014. We have been submitting papers for relief packages for the last four years. Like Shikarawallas and Ponny Wallas, the Government should also give us some relief,” Ghulam Mohamamd Bodu, a vendor, said.
He is one of the 300 hawkers who earn their livelihood by selling shawls and other items in Dal lake. He alleged that they have been left to fend for themselves as no one visited them in the last two years. He is worried that it would be hard for them to make it through the second wave of the Covid 19 with meager savings. “I am running out of money and do not know how to run my family affairs if the situation persists,” he said.
Another vendor, Mohammad Shafi, said for the last two years he could not sell a single piece as the Dal lake is deserted. A surge in the prices of essential commodities like cooking oil, vegetable and groceries is making it harder for him to survive. “I used to earn around Rs 1000 a day. Now I am sitting idle here. What will I give to my family?” he said.
President Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Sheikh Ashiq said that the small-time vendors are passing through a tough phase and government should support them. “It should be a matter of policy for the Government. These vendors should be treated like other workers so that they can take benefit of different schemes of the government,” he said.
The tourist influx in Jammu and Kashmir has increased since January this year, after a hiatus of two years. The tourism sector was badly hit after the annulment of special status and COVID-19, resulting in a huge loss to the people in the tourism sector. To reverse the impact had taken several initiatives to bring tourists back to the Valley.
This winter the hill stations of the Valley witnessed an overwhelming tourist flow and all hotels in Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Srinagar were sold out till April. The opening of Asia’s largest Tulip garden also ensured an early start of the tourist season, but all was lost due to the second wave of COVID 19.
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