Sofi Rafiq
Covid19 is not less than a catastrophe and a new challenge to humanity which started it journey from Wuhan in China and within no time has engulfed almost all countries in the world. Keeping in view of its serious consequences WHO have already declared it as a Pandemic which has already taken life of around 30,000 people across the globe with Italy as worst hit where the number of deaths has crossed the mark of 10000 people, followed by Spain and China. The number of Positive cases and deaths is increasing at an alarming rate the world over day by day. There is a debate on social media that corona is not a disease of nature but a corporate crime. Some people claim it is a self created and biologically and chemically originated virus against humanity for the lust of money and power. Leaving this debate aside whether it is a natural disease or biological war for power but the reality is Corona virus has halted all human activities round the globe which has started hitting global economy directly, As IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on 26th March told reporters at a news conference that “the world is in the face of a devastating impact due to corona virus pandemic and it is now clear that we have entered a recession as bad or worse than in 2009”. Indian economy in general and Jammu & Kashmir economy is not an exceptiontoit. Covid19 has knocked the doors of UT Jammu & Kashmir at a time when economic and other humanactivitieswasabouttostartandgraduallythelifewascomingonrailsafterworstever complete clampdown of almost 07 months following the abrogation of article 370 on 05, august 2019 which brought human life stand still and crippled all sectors of the J&K economywhichisalreadyinbadconditionduetoalongturmoilwhichisgoingonherefrom lastthreedecades.Thiswasthetimewhenstudentsweredreamingofafullacademicsession, people related to tourism were expecting a good tourist season, daily rated workers/labourers, businessmen, and people related to other walks of life were expecting a good and productive year but unfortunately Corona Virus dashed all dreams to ground. This tragic pandemic has already taken two lives in Jammu and Kashmir so far and the number of positive cases has already touched 33 which are increasing with passing days. It has not only created panic but has become a matter of concern and has put many challenges before public as well as administration. Like in other parts of the country as a remedial measure and to control this pandemic the UT administration is strictly ensuring complete lock down and social distancing which is fully supported and cooperated by the People in Jammu and Kashmir as they believe in stay home stay safe.
we will feel the heat in post corona times as economic is in very bad condition.
The lockdown is not new to the people of Kashmir valley as people in this part of the world are have gone through worst kinds of lockdowns since 2008 on one pretext or the other and this part of the world is better known as the land of hartals, lock downs and shutdowns. This time the clamp down and social distancing is important so as to curb the spreadofCoronaVirusandisquitedifferentfromthepreviousclampdownsasthelatestone is observed voluntarily and fully supported by public and has no law and order issues attached with it as was in the case in previous lockdowns. But it is a reality that all clampdowns/ lockdowns including this one lead to high growth in administrative/ security related expenditures, besides resulting in loss of opportunities for growth of economy and generation of employment and thus have hug repercussions on the livelihood and the economy at large. The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing this lock down at a time when we were trying to come out of the worst ever lock down of almost seven months following Aug, 05, 2019 political developments. This lock down will have a devastating impact on already ailing economy of J&K. Since ours is a consumer economy and to meet its daily requirements we largely depends upon imports from other parts of the country resulting in the drainage of economic resources instead of creating any internal growth in the economy, due to the prevailing lockdown all over the country there is no production going on in the other parts of the country therefore, what to import and where from is a matter of concern and if not addressed well in time will create shortage of necessary commodities of daily use in Jammu andKashmiranditwillhaveseriousconsequencesincomingtwotothreemonths. Agriculture sector of Jammu and Kashmir is already ailing due to unplanned shift from food crops to commercials crops, shrinking of agriculture land due to unabated construction, unfavourable weather conditions etc. The contribution of agriculture sectors towards GDP is declining continuously. The condition of agriculture and its allied sectors will further deteriorate due to the lockdown. Jammu and Kashmir is an industrially backward area. We do not have any commendable industrial base in this region of the country. Large scale industries are almost nonexistent. However, in last two decades an increase in the number of Small Scale Industries (SSI’s) is witnessed but due to frequent lockdowns a large number of SSI units are already suffering on many fronts and some are on the verge of closure as liquidity and solvency problems have engulfed them. Now the only hope was the service sector which was doing well as compared to agricultural and industrial sector but due to continuous lockdown from thedateofabrogationofarticle370lastyeartodatehasalsohit service sector especially education and tourism very badly. In the back ground of this grim economic situation Corona pandemic has inflicted miseries upon the already suffering poor people of Kashmir. There are number of families’ especially daily rated workers who have completely gone bankrupt and do not even have the food to eat. Just seven days have passed when Prime Minister of India appealed for 21 days of lock down throughout country which is being observed throughout India but as per media reports it has created unimaginable crisis with regard to movement of people, Employment, Food, and daily needs etc. and the people all over India are in mental trauma. Imagine the plight of poor people of Kashmir who are witnessing the lockdown almost every year since 2008 that too not for days or weeks but for months together. Imagine the condition of economy that is subservient to these volatile conditions. Covid19 followed by lock down in the affected countries must be an eye opener for the whole world community in general and unbiased people living in other parts of the country to realise the pain and suffering that people of Jammu and Kashmir might have faced in the enforced lock down followed after August 05,2019politicalDevelopments. By the grace of Almighty Allah, genuine policies adopted by the administration and by full cooperation and support from general public we will come out of the present crisis created by corona Virus. But we will feel the heat in post corona times as economic is in very bad condition. After abrogation of Article 370 the region is in direct Control of Delhi therefore, Central government, its policy makers and the local administration has to honestly understand and look into economic problems of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and come up with a financial package and stabilization measures so that our Health care system, Tourism, Education, and Industries will get support and measures need to adopted to start converting our economy from consumer economy to producer economy and special focus and attention must be given to potential sectors like horticulture, floriculture, food processing, power generation and development of social infrastructure etc. which will generate opportunities for growth of economy and generate employment for unemployed masses and as an immediate relief 4G internet be restored in Jammu and Kashmir.
(The author is freelancer. Views are his own, [email protected])