Mohammad Yaqoob
In an ongoing spontaneous lockdown that begun on August 5 over Delhi’s major decision on Kashmir, almost all the economic and social sectors remain shut. But the people associated with these sectors have set the new routine to compensate these losses alongside registering their protests while resuming businesses in early morning and evening hours. But, there is one sector that endured unbearable losses-Transport.
They have no option even to resume their business partially given to increasing security threat. Abdul Rashid, a 50-year-old sumo driver of Bemina narrates his ordeal of sitting idle at home. Rashid, according to him has been taking care of his family by riding tourists since 1985. His life was going very smooth as pilgrims and tourists had visited Kashmir in larger numbers this year. However, everything changed just a few days ahead of the central government’s decision to revoke state’s special status on 5th August 2019. Suddenly tourists and Amarnath pilgrims left Kashmir after government issued an advisory forcing Rashid to sit idle at home.
He feared any damage to vehicle, which he doesn’t own, shall cause him more losses. The things have turned worse since then. “I had only 5000/= rupees with me on August 4 which finished in the first week. After that I was forced to buy goods on credit. Paying in cash was otherwise a daily routine,” he said. Rashid has the responsibility of six members on his shoulders which includes his three school going children, wife and mother.
His elder son is a college student who studies commerce at Bemina Degree College, and other son studies in 9th standard, and his younger son has joined crèche recently. Like Rashid, thousands of public transporters had to face very tough times due to the uncertain situation for the past three months. The public transport and tourist cabs have mostly remained off the roads since the August 5 decision, first owing to the restrictions by government and then a spontaneous shutdown by people.
Though the movement of private transporters is witnessed almost in every part of the valley and shopkeepers also open for few hours in mornings and evenings but the most unfortunate are mini bus drivers, bus drivers, cab drivers and their owners who have done no business during this period. Shakeel Ahmad Khan, a bus owner and also a driver of city outskirts, said that he had recently lent money from J&K bank to buy a bus for his business. “After the revocation of state’s special status, I couldn’t pay my monthly installment (EMI) to the bank which also increased my debt including the compound interest,” he said.
Another bus driver Javed Jeelani said: “I had to lend money from my neighbors to feed my children”. According to the office bearers of Western Bus Service, Eastern Mini buses union Srinagar and President tourist taxi stand, there are 37930 vehicles which includes 35000 maxi cabs, 2200 mini buses and 730 Public Buses operational. The sector, they estimate, has suffered a loss of around Rs 600 crores across the Kashmir valley. Chairman Eastern Mini Buses Union said that public transporters are the people who suffered the most by this lockdown “economically as well as psychologically”. “There are some drivers amongst the driver community who worked as laborers to feed their family and some drivers started selling vegetables on streets to meet the basic requirements of their family,” he said.
“We have 1800 mini buses only in Srinagar city run by 5 companies which have incurred loss of Rs 20 crores rupees,” he said. “Beside this, there are 400 mini buses from Ganderbal district which bore the loss of Rs 10 crores,” he said. Chairman Western Bus Service said there are 730 buses associated with them and have been off the roads since August 5, 2019 which led to minimum loss of 14 crores rupees.
President of tourist taxi stand (No. 2), Ghulam Nabi Pandav said that there are 35000 maxi cabs throughout the Kashmir valley among which 160 vehicles belong to their stand. “Only 50 per cent of the drivers own these vehicles while as 50 per cent of drivers work on salary bases,” Pandav said.
“Our business is solely relying upon tourism sector, we were badly affected by the prevailing political uncertainty in Kashmir and bore a loss of around Rs 540 crores,” he said. He said that they have to bear the daily expenses of Rs. 500/= which includes insurance, token fee, fitness fee, permission fee, etc.
