Srinagar 08 October (KNB): Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM) has said that the decisions taken on 5 August 2019 have dealt a deathblow to the economy of J&K.
In an interaction with some young entrepreneurs, JKPM Senior Vice President Advocate Syed Iqbal Tahir said that unless peace is established in J&K, no industrial progress is possible. He said that owing to the clampdown by the government in August 2019, the economy of J&K has been crippled and the hardest hit was the young entrepreneur community of J&K.
“In the wake of abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, business and commerce had to suffer one of the worst phases in J&K’s history as the clampdown and communication blockade crippled business leading to economic losses across sectors,” he said and added “The losses, as per the estimates of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industries (KCCI), is over USD 1 billion. Even the preventive custody of various business leaders left the entire business fraternity into shock.”
He said that with no access to Internet services in J&K for more than 7 months, entrepreneurs especially those in e-commerce portals found it impossible to survive and as a result, they lost most customers and had to lay off employees.
“On the contrary entrepreneurs throughout other parts of the country have achieved huge success and some of them have turned out to be unicorns, resulting in wealth generation and employment”, Iqbal Tahir said.Iqbal Tahir demanded the complete reversal of August 2019 decisions by the government so that economy of J&K is put back on track. He also said the government must launch a special programme aimed at harnessing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in J&K. (KNB)