Dealing with cash crunch no big deal for Kashmiris

NEW DELHI: Most people in Jammu and Kashmir have not faced as many problems on account of demonetisation as their counterparts in the rest of the country, inured as they have been to hardships amid nearshutdown in the Valley since July and the age-old practice of stocking up on essentials before the onset of winter.

The ongoing protests in the Kashmir valley, triggered by the killing of Hizb ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July, had already halted cash flow and daily-wage operations in the state.

Intermittent restrictions on use of the Internet as a means of curb separatist activities in the state meant that people were used to their credit and debit cards being rendered useless every time the clampdown happened, thus diluting any immediate adverse consequence of the now month-old demonetisation drive on businesses and service sectors in the state.

Showkat Anwar, a teacher of economics at Central University, Kashmir, said the valley has a culture of stocking essentials— earlier due to the weather and now due to the conflict situation in the state. “However, trust and credit still play a vital role in our business and daily transactions,” he said.

The state’s rebound was quick despite debit and credit cards being rendered useless due to a ban on use of the internet in the valley for a few days.

Some attributed the absence of chaos to the government’s financial inclusion drive and a strong network of bank branches in the state. “We have a huge network of banks and bank accounts.

People with their innate skepticism due to circumstances are financially more literate and thus less perturbed,” Abdul Rahim Rather, former finance minister of J&K and senior National Conference leader, told ET.