Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Feb 12: Forty-four Nisar Ahmad Khan was a worried man. Given that the valley witnessed a prolonged dry spell in December and January, his products, which mostly include handicrafts, didn’t get customers.
Now, when the valley witnessed a heavy snowfall last week, which subsequently improved the rush of tourists, his shop remains abuzz with customers.
“Snowfall is a blessing for Kashmiris. During January, the flow of tourists declined because of the prolonged dry spell. Apart from tourism, it affected the handicrafts sector, which largely depends on the tourist rush,” he said.
Khan, who sells different varieties of shawls and other handicraft items, said his business has revived again post snowfall.
“For the last week, I have been getting a good number of customers. The rush is such that I had to refill my counters with handicrafts items as the entire stock was sold out in just three to four days,” he said.
Similar views are echoed by the artisans from Srinagar’s downtown area who said they have started getting a good number of customers for their handicraft products once again.
“I am associated with walnut wood carving and make small handicraft souvenir items. Indeed, we didn’t get enough customers during December and January. Post snowfall, the customer rush has increased,” said Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, an artisan.
While dealers said the exports of handicraft items continues gaining pace, he said a lot of handicraft products get sold within Kashmir as well.
“We get tourists as customers who buy shawls, paper machie and other items in Kashmir. So, it is obvious that when the rush of tourists increases our sales also increase,” said Bashir Ahmad Lone, a carpet and shawl dealer.
Meanwhile, tourism players claimed the recent snowfall has revived many businesses including tourism, handicrafts, and hospitality in Kashmir.
“Many businesses in Kashmir are directly or indirectly associated with tourism. We have witnessed a good improvement in bookings for the last two weeks. It has boosted sales of handicrafts, dry fruits, and apparel in Kashmir,” said Umar Ahmad, a travel agent.
