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With the new LG in Raj Bhawan business community of Kashmir valley is hopeful that the central government will finally send some financial package to bail them out as without any such intervention, the business sectors in Kashmir valley are at the brink of closure.

Lockdown has proved to be the last nail in the coffin of an already dying production industry here. In total, the sector incurred a loss of Rs 3161.60 crore during the lockdown period.

Lockdown also brought construction activities to a standstill, leaving 500,000 people jobless. Construction activities and projects were hit by a loss of Rs 2,214.64 crore.

Thousands of people lost their jobs, hotels looked deserted, houseboats were locked and other tourist activities ceased. “Tourist traders were waiting for tourists in 2020, but the lockdown and the situation have dashed their hopes, and in the last five months alone the sector has lost Rs 1,292 crore, while the hotels and restaurants have also suffered a loss of Rs 760 crore,” KTA said.

The report says that the wheels of passenger vehicles have been jammed in the Valley for the last five months, with an estimated 60,000 passenger vehicles including 32,000 taxi cabs, 6,000 minibuses, and 12,000 auto-rickshaws having been lying idle. “A total of 200,000 families are dependent on transport. The financial condition of the transporters, drivers and conductors is very pathetic. The sector has suffered losses of Rs 2888 crore as a result of the lockdown in the last five months,” KTA report says.

It says the shopkeepers lost Rs 4104 crore during the lockdown. Handicrafts sector has incurred a total loss of Rs 760 crore and real estate sector has lost Rs 2280 crore, while the services sector incurred a loss of Rs 608 crore.

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