Jammu and Kashmir lost Rs.700 crore due to summer unrest

JAMMU - The Jammu and Kashmir government lost Rs.700 crore during last year’s summer unrest in the Kashmir Valley by way of damage to infrastructure and cost of ferrying employees to their duties, an official source said.

This figure does not include the loss the state suffered in the tourism and industrial sectors.

The losses were due to the damage to public property, police stations, railway stations and public transport during the summer unrest in Kashmir, which left 112 people dead.

The economic loss to the valley because of the shutdowns and protests was estimated at over Rs.10,000 crore by various media organisations which had spoken to economic analysts.

“The loss was because of the closure of offices, non-generation of tax revenue because of the frequent shutdowns and stone-pelting the valley, including sales tax, power tariff,” a top source in the Jammu and Kashmir government told IANS.

“Besides, there was a huge loss because the employees had to be ferried to their places of work to enable them to be in their offices during curfew restrictions. Special buses were pressed into service for that,” the source added.

The government will also have to shell out extra money to repair or reconstruct the public properties. The estimates were being worked out, the source said.

“The state government is likely to seek the help of the central government in meeting these extra expenses. We are trying to project our demand, rest is up to the central government,” the source said, fearing there is a danger of the state losing out on development.

“Much of the working season was lost because of the unrest,” said the source, who holds a key position in the state government.