Srinagar (J&K): The historic Srinagar handicrafts hub, the Government Central Handicraft Market, used to be the first choice of shoppers but is deserted today even as Kashmir witnessed a massive rush of tourists this year. There are no buyers in this market of around 125 shops that is in existence for over seven decades now.
The shopkeepers say that ten percent of the shops in the market belong to the Pandit community, but they too are closed for years. Speaking to ETV Bharat, some shopkeepers said that the market was destroyed by fire twice and suffered massive damage during the 2014 floods. They claimed that the government had not provided any compensation to them.
"Once the market used to witness huge rush that we didn't get time off from work, but today nobody comes here. There are goods worth lakhs of rupees in the shops but there are no buyers. We are at the mercy of Almighty," said a shopkeeper.
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The J&K administration, he said, wanted to increase the rent but the shopkeepers do not agree with the move. "It is becoming difficult to arrange two meals a day and they want to increase the rent. They should take steps to restore the vibrancy of this market. Like Nishat and Shalimar (the historic Mughal gardens in Srinagar), this market should also be made a tourist spot, then we can have something," he said.
In this regard, when ETV Bharat contacted senior officials of the handicrafts department, they assured that "the matter will be looked into provided the shopkeepers cooperate with us."
