Ecommerce softens lockdown everywhere else but Kashmir netpreneurs suffer without 4G

Many internet sites in Kashmir are on the verge of closing down after the Supreme Court the other day refused to direct for restoration of high speed internet. Iqra, a woman who started her e-tail business in clothing in 2015, wants the federal government to revive 4G internet in the Union territory if it certainly wants to help the firms.

“It is not only the dog owner who needs high speed internet to carry out business, but customers as well who check my page and purchase products online,” the 28-year-old told PTI.

A graduate in psychology and master of linguistics, Iqra realised early that she'll have to look for avenues apart from a government job for earning a livelihood. Using the energy of social media, she started ‘TulPalav’, translated from Kashmiri as Select the Clothes in 2015.

She and her team designed the merchandise and put them for sale on social media platforms like Facebook and instagram. In 2017, Iqra went for professional trained in designing and did a course popular designing from a renowned institute in Delhi.

“I started from Instagram and Facebook. I was having 50,000 followers on Instagram till February, however now it’s all gone as my account was hacked,” she said. Given the uncertainty of internet services in the valley in the wake of the 2016 unrest and subsequent student protests in 2017, the young entrepreneur considered opening a physical store because of the response to her products.

“The store is ready but August 2019 happened (lockdown following abrogation of Article 370) and today COVID-19 lock down... The store cannot even be inaugurated. All my effort is certainly going into vain,” she rued.

Iqra feels that if 4G internet services are restored, her business can pick up again.

“When I started, I got an excellent response from people, being a Kashmiri brand. My brand is centered on Kashmiri culture and tradition. So persons supported me. I have customers worldwide. Plus they be thankful. I used to get an average of 20 orders each day which would keep my team of 10 busy in work.

“We now have zero orders because uploading pictures of the merchandise is a herculean task and people don't have patience to download these pictures at significantly less than 2G speed,” she added.

Iqra said it was not merely her but a huge selection of ‘netpreneurs’ who were suffering as a result of lack of high speed internet.

“It is not only me. Hundreds of Kashmiris are facing the same problem. I have already been talking to a lot of people, they are on the verge of closing,” she said. Yasir Ahad was working as a sales executive with a leading carpet company of Kashmir in Thailand for quite some time before he made a decision to become an employer by starting an online retail shop of branded clothing.

“My experience in sales within the united states and abroad had given me enough contacts which I used to create my business on Facebook. The response was good and I hired five boys for delivering goods initially within Srinagar and later to adjoining districts,” he said.

However, the dream of being a successful entrepreneur using the energy of internet ended on August 5 this past year.

“I am likely to move back again to sales at so when the COVID-19 lockdown ends globally,” he added.

Besides these budding entrepreneurs, established business houses are also suffering heavily.

“Our carpet industry is on the verge of collapse as the orders attended down to a trickle in the wake of last year’s internet shutdown. We used to send our inventories to our customers abroad using instant messaging applications like WhatsApp. That's almost impossible now, given enough time it requires to send pictures and videos across, President of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Ashiq said.

Ashiq, who's also an associate of the Carpet Promotion Council of India, said the hopes of any revival were dashed following the pandemic threw normal life out of gear.

He said the other sectors of Kashmiri businesses have also been hit badly by low internet speeds.

High speed internet in Jammu and Kashmir is suspended since August 5, 2019.