Srinagar’s Lal Chowk remains flood-torn ghost

Srinagar, November 16, 2014 (PPI-OT): Despite opening of shops and other business establishments at the flood-ravaged city centre of the summer capital, the arrival of winter and the Darbar move is acting as the spoilsport for the already troubled business community.

As the shop owners at large in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and adjoining areas have started to put their business back on gear, the minimal attendance of the shoppers is adding to the woes of the affected business community.

Most of the shoppers, while narrating their woes, maintained that the people are least interested at present to shop anything as they believe that the entity shop owner sells might be flood-affected. “We cannot even assure them that we have replaced everything. The commodities available for sale are fresh and not flood torn,” said Muneer Ahmad who owns a readymade shop near the city centre.

The business owners of Lal Chowk also took a jibe at the authorities that they left them at the mercy of situation, caring little about their plight. They added that the Lal Chowk shopping areas are the high tax payers in the territory and the partial approach of the authorities had only added to their miseries instead of mitigating their sufferings.

Shoppers too make a point while providing a reason for giving Lal Chowk a slip. They said that the health advisories issued earlier had categorically asked people not to use any flood-affected material.

Floodwaters entered into the business hub Lal chowk on September 7 after the breaches were witnessed in the river near Polo view area of the city centre.

The government latter admitted that the business community witnessed the loss of 80 thousand crore. The business community later said that the authorities were playing delaying tactics in compensating the losses.

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