COVID-19 lockdown: Kashmir’s fragile economy suffers Rs 8,500 crore loss

The already battered economy of Kashmir has suffered a further loss of Rs 8,500 crore due to COVID-19 lockdown in the last two months.

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This is the Valley’s second lockdown in a row as the first was imposed by the Centre on August 5 when the special status of J&K was abrogated. It lasted six months, during which the Kashmir economy suffered losses of Rs 17,878 crore, according to the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

And now according to a preliminary assessment by Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), the region's leading trade body, the Valley's economy suffered losses of Rs 8,416.2 crore in the first two months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trade sector, as per the KEA, took a cumulative hit of Rs 1,620 crore in the last two months. The industrial sector suffered losses of Rs 1,248 crore, followed by the transport sector of Rs 1,140 crore. The Real Estate and Housing took a hit of Rs 900 crore, livestock and constructions of Rs 882 crore and Rs 874.2 crore, respectively.

Tourism and hospitality, a sector that has a trickle-down effect on other sectors too, recorded losses of Rs 810 crore in the two months of coronavirus lockdown, so far. Tourism has been suffering losses right since the government itself asked tourists to leave Kashmir in early August last year. Any hopes of revival this year were dashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the backbones of the Kashmir economy, handicrafts, suffered losses of Rs 300 crore in the last two months. The services sector suffered losses of Rs 240 crore. Education sector lost at least Rs 30 crore in the 60-day lockdown period, so far, according to the KEA assessment.

A leading businessman from the Valley said many business establishments have closed down or are contemplating closure as losses have mounted beyond their capacity. “No serious exercise has been undertaken to either assess the losses or to support the helpless traders in Kashmir, who are bearing the brunt of lockdowns for almost a year now,” he said.

“Tourism sector is in shambles. Artisans and weavers are jobless and manufacturing is in tatters,” he added.