As Non-Local Labourers Flee Kashmir, Dev Works Brought To Grinding Halt thekashmirmonitor.net

As non-local laborers have left Kashmir, the developmental works have been halted in the valley for the last one month. On August 2, the government issued an advisory asking tourists and Amarnath yatris to leave the valley citing militant threats. Three days after, the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre abrogated Article 370, 35A, and bifurcated the state on August 5. Since then, the valley has been under clampdown. At the same time, the non-local laborers who have been working on several developmental projects or running their own shops have left the valley.

These days rarely any non-local laborer could be found across the Valley. An official of Roads and Buildings Department said at least 80 percent of semi-skilled and skilled workforces in Kashmir are non-locals mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and few other states. The works have been stopped on developmental projects. Construction works will be restarted only when skilled laborers are available here.