On October 14 when mobiles phones started to ring again after 71 days of communication blockade, Abid Khan, 35, made his first call to his work’s supervisor Aman in Kolkata. It was a short but emotional call. The call was made to assure Aman that the situation has improved in Kashmir and he can now return along with his team of workers.
Khan, who owns a cardboard box manufacturing plant in Industrial Estate, Khunmoh, had to shut-down operations on August 3, after non-local workforce started to leave Kashmir en masse. “I convinced Aman and few other workers to stay back,” recalls Khan.
But on August 5, after the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status, Aman and other labourers became restless. “So I let them go,” said Khan. “For the first time they started fearing for their lives in Kashmir.”
The same day, Khan locked down his manufacturing facility halting all operations. “I had an advance order for manufacturing of over five lakh apple boxes,” said Khan. “There was no possibility of any work.”
As the apple-harvesting season was approaching fast, Khan invested his entire savings to meet the demand and deadline.
“When landline phones started to function, I rang Aman and asked him to keep labourers ready as I was sure things will be normal in a short while,” said Khan. “But I was proven wrong.”
Khan’s emotional call was one last effort to convince Aman to come back before apple season concludes.
But Khan is not the only one who has tried everything to convince labourers to come back. A number of factory owners lured their workers with gifts like new mobile phones, bonuses and other things to convince them back to work.
For Majeed, a young entrepreneur who owns a small food processing plant in Khunmoh, getting back skilled workers was like a herculean task for him.
Denne historien er fra October 27-November 02, 2019; THE URDU UMPIRE; Issue 30 Vol 11;-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
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Denne historien er fra October 27-November 02, 2019; THE URDU UMPIRE; Issue 30 Vol 11;-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Before The Kabul Retreat
Described as the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, Afghanistan was always termed to be at peace when it was at war. But the land-locked desert country that was always in turmoil and one of the worst targets of the Great Game suffered immensely throughout, especially in the last 40 years, Masood Hussain writes
FINGERS CROSSED
Almost everybody in academia and politics that Khalid Bashir Gura spoke to, the response over Kabul happens was simple – wait and watch
Parliamentary Committee In Srinagar
The visiting 28-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs have had detailed interactions with top civil administration and discussed developmental scenario and people’s welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a 4-day visit. Congress leader and MP Anand Sharma is heading the committee.
MUSIC IN MUD HOUSE
Deep into north Kashmir, Faheem Mir meet a small community that sings and lives on folk music but is facing a tense situation in the last few years
THE KABUL SPILLOVER?
Security experts are divided over the possible impact of the Kabul situation on Kashmir. But the dramatic Taliban triumph has altered the region’s geopolitics, for the time being, writes Riyaz Wani
Durga Bhawan At Katra
To enhancing facilities for the convenience of the Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation for the Durga Bhawan, a high utility pilgrim-centric facility worth Rs 24.4 crore. The facility will accommodate 4000 pilgrims.
Women Empowerment
In the first, 480 talented girls from Jammu and Kashmir were included in the degree and diploma courses of the Pragati Scholarship. Jammu and Kashmir has also got nine scholarships under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities.
‘SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT IS THE OUTCOME OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN KASHMIR STAND-OFF'
Foreign policy expert and editor of HardNews magazine, Sanjay Kapoor believes that Taliban 2.0 has more legitimacy unlike in the past as it had signed a deal with the US and negotiated with other countries of the region, but the final verdict can be passed only after it manages ticklish issues involving half of its population, the women
Boredom Is Creative?
Getting bored is not as boring as it gets, writes Azra Hussain
LG In Bangus
Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Bungus Awaam Mela amidst grand arrangements for village games, exhilarating local performances, and other activities to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
