Waterlogging, flood fear keep shops deserted; Traders blame Govt
It was last Saturday when Manzoor Ahmed saw customers visiting his Lal Chowk shop. Five days on, flood scare which prompted him to take home the merchandise, has left his shop void of any business.
Ahmed is not alone. Hundreds of shopkeepers in the business hub of Lal Chowk and other main marketplaces in the civil lines have been sitting idle.
Lal Chowk traders said massive waterlogging on day one of rainfall rose waters to knee-deep levels in the City center. Those who could afford instantly emptied their shops. “I tried to take home most of the valuables and since then obviously didn’t do any business,” complained Manzoor who runs an electronic goods shop.
But not all shopkeepers were able to take the goods home. “All in our family run shops in the City center but incidentally we all live in Raj Bagh which was worst hit by September floods and thus couldn’t take merchandise home,” explained a member of the Kitabs, a prominent business family.
The shopkeepers said as if this was not enough, waterlogging added to their woes. “My shop has been shut due to waterlogging,” complained a Sarai Bala trader.
Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers President Muhammad Yasin Khan while endorsing the business losses suffered by the traders blamed it on the government.
“We do appreciate that the government top brass visited Lal Chowk and other markets but there should have been a well defined policy on keeping traders informed on as to when it was needed to shift our merchandise,” Yasin told .
“There should have been a kind of proper announcement or bulletin system for the traders… But as there was no such initiative, we helplessly tried our own ways and means,” Khan said.
He said the devastation in the previous floods has been so huge that 40 % of the shops were yet to resume any business.
