No Jobs, No Income: The Impact The Economic Crisis In Kashmir Has Had On Locals

Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, who has not worked since losing his job as a bus conductor when the region's economy ground to a near-halt due to the clampdown, sits his wife Aisha and their quadriplegic son Amir at their home in Sholipora.

A Kashmiri shopkeeper sits at the entrance of his half closed shop during lockdown in Srinagar. In 2019, less than 5 lakh tourists visited the Kashmir Valley, among them more than 4.5 lakh tourists visited between January and July.

A deserted house boat is seen at Nigeen lake in Srinagar. According to the report of Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry, between 5 August and 3 December 2019, the tourism industry lost about Rs 10,000 crores.

Pigeons fly at a deserted market area during lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 in Srinagar. Kashmiris believe that by the end of this year there is no hope of a revival of the tourism industry in the valley.

Kashmiri houseboat owner Ghulam Qadir Ota offers prayers inside his houseboat during lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 at Nigeen Lake in Srinagar. “We’ve not earned a single penny for a year now, all we have are these boats, We don’t have any other means to earn," he told AP.

A Kashmiri houseboat owner Ghulam Qadir shows his guest entry book which was last filled in July 2019, in Srinagar. Days before the Aug. 5, 2019, decision by the central government, authorities asked hundreds of thousands of tourists, Hindu pilgrims and migrant workers to leave the territory, shutting its economy. Since then, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost.

A Kashmiri waiter cleans a table inside a restaurant of Hotel Standard during lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in Srinagar. Hundreds of the colorful hand-carved houseboats, known as shikaras, lie deserted, mostly anchored still on the desolate lake. Hotels are empty and there are hardly any tourists.

Kashmiri boatmen rest as they wait for customers on the deserted banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar. Some businesses had resumed with the partial lifting of the security and communication clampdown earlier this year. However, Indian authorities enforced another harsh lockdown in March to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, further emaciating the local economy.

Kashmiri taxi drivers walk near their parked vehicles inside a deserted tourist taxi stand during lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 in Srinagar. Mohammed Rajab, a taxi driver for 37 years, hasn't been hired even once since last August. "I parked my taxi at our stand a few days before August 5 last year. It's still there along with 250 others," he told AP.

A Kashmiri boatman rows his boat through a closed floating market on the Dal Lake during lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19.