Migrant workers flee Srinagar amid Kashmir violence

Early morning, as buses, taxis and trucks line up in the state capital, migrant workers leave in droves to Jammu and other parts of the country in search of a livelihood. The exorbitant fare charged by taxi and truck drivers has only compounded the workers' misery.

"There is no work here and we fear for our safety," Ashraf Ahmad, a laborer from the Indian state of Bihar, told DW. "All economic activity in Srinagar has halted and it makes no sense to stay here," Ahmad added.

Ahmad and his nephew, Suhail, who have been working on Srinagar's construction sites for the past three months, are unsure where to find new work.

Pradeep Kumar, a carpenter from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, faces a similar situation. He came to work in Kashmir in April and rented a one-room apartment in Srinagar.

"Everything was going well and I managed to send enough money to my family back home. But the violence and curfew in the valley has made life very difficult. There is no option but to leave," Kumar told DW.

The migrant workers who choose to stay hope the violence would abate soon.

Worst unrest in decades

The Indian portion of Kashmir has been in the grip of violence as thousands of people in the state capital Srinagar and other parts of the valley continue to clash with the security forces, defying a month-long curfew.

The protests started after the killing of Burhan Wani, a Kashmiri separatist leader, by the security forces on July 8.

Since 1989, Muslim insurgents have been fighting Indian forces in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir - a region of 12 million people, about 70 percent of whom are Muslim.

No work in the valley

Migrant workers earn a decent amount of money in Kashmir because the local work force is not skilled enough to undertake many jobs. Also, many people in the majority-Muslim capital refuse to perform certain tasks, leaving a big gap between the supply and demand.

An estimated number of 500,000 migrant workers from the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab come to the Kashmir valley every spring in search of jobs. Half of the migrant workers are from Bihar; some 15 percent come from Uttar Pradesh; and the rest from the states of Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Punjab. They return to their homes before winter, which is the end of the working season.

Most of these workers are involved in agriculture, horticulture, brick kilns and construction work. Some are also employed as domestic workers while others work as hawkers. These workers live in cramped apartments, mostly on the outskirts of the city.

"The situation in Kashmir was also volatile in 2010 when the protesters clashed with security forces. But this time the situation is worse," Kailash Deo, a hawker from the eastern state of Odisha, told DW. He has decided to move to Jammu, some 300 kilometers from Srinagar, where most of the state's Hindus live.

Huge economic loss

Skilled workers usually earn up to 600 rupees (seven euros) a day, whereas unskilled laborers make around 250 rupees. But the lockdown in the state has led to a shortage of construction supplies as a result of which the contractors are unable to continue work.

"With shops, offices, schools and commercial establishments shut for over 45 days, the migrant laborers are hit badly," Mohammed Yasin Khan, president of the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, told DW.

It is perhaps the worst economic crisis in Kashmir in decades. The Federation estimates that the state economy has already suffered a loss of over 790 million euros since the start of the protests in July.