Srinagar’s flea market retailers, shopkeepers protest against highway ban

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SRINAGAR: Srinagar’s flea market retailers and shopkeepers operating from various areas of the city on Sunday staged a protest and held the government responsible for downgrading their market due to the highway closure.

Scores of the protesting shopkeepers and retailers including Nepali women assembled at press colony in Srinagar and sought the government to revoke the highway ban order as it has downgraded their market due to lack of customers.

“As the government has lockdown the highway, 90% people living far from the city are not able to reach here, which ultimately is our loss, because without customers were are nothing,” said one of the protest retailer.

“Where ever you look you can see people associated with the market, not a single person purchasing items. We have not seen a single customer since morning,” he added.

The retailers also appealed the government to look into the matter and sought the revocation of the highway ban order.

Earlier, the two main regional political parties PDP and NC took to streets and protest against the ban on the thoroughfare. Leaders from both parties protested against the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir Valley with rest of the world.

Pertinently, the history’s first bi-weekly highway lockdown started from wee hours of Sunday. An eyewitness said that there was no movement of civil traffic witnessed except the government forces convoy movement. An eyewitness said that a large number of government forces have been deployed on the thoroughfare.