Lucknow, 4 Feb: Ishtiyaq (26), a Srinagar native, is a bachelor’s degree student who has been selling fruits in Lucknow for the past few months in order to pay his tuition expenses in Kashmir. “Lucknow is like a second home to us,” he said, explaining that they have been selling dried fruits here for many years. ?Many Kashmiri traders rely on it for their livelihood. We will keep doing this as long as individuals come forward to buy them. However, in recent years, the right wing has attacked, insulted, and even assaulted us. Aren’t we Indian? “Where should we do business while we are Indian?”, alleged Ishtiyaq, a Kashmiri trader of dried fruits.
He alleged that the local officials destroyed his dried fruit inventory.
“Last year, too, people threw sacks of dried fruits worth thousands of rupees into the river. Inside the bag was a box of Kesar (saffron) and almonds worth Rs. 35,000,” Momin, a native of Srinagar’s Kulgam who travelled to the state capital to sell dried fruits, claimed. This is the second time four dry fruit bags have been dropped into the river.
Like any other day, Kashmiri dry fruit vendors were busy with clients at the 1090 crossing. A group of Lucknow Construction Authority (LDA) officials arrived unexpectedly and asked them to depart the area due to ongoing development work. However, when they were collecting their belongings, several people allegedly began dumping their dried fruits into the Gomti river. Bags containing dried fruits worth Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 were dropped in the river by authorities.
A customer, a lawyer by profession, was an eyewitness to the incident and recorded his testimony to the police. When LDA officers reportedly misbehaved with Kashmiri merchants, he purchased dry fruits. They allegedly misbehaved with the lawyer as well when he interfered.
Meanwhile, when the Kashmiri sellers complained, they fled, leaving a car to be towed later by the police authorities.
“We were just getting started. A customer who identified himself as a lawyer was buying some dried fruits. We were discussing the pricing when a car with four or five persons arrived. They dumped our stuff into the river without a word or a justification. They were not in the mood to listen. The lawyer’s dry fruits were also taken and dumped into the river, according to Momin.
The police, on the other hand, denied that anybody misbehaved or tossed dry fruits into the river. “The Gomti Barrage is being developed as part of the preparations for the Global Investors Summit. Following this, the LDA employees requested that the Kashmiri youngsters peddling dry fruits leave. Still, the youngsters lingered, so LDA workers returned to clear the area “Aparna Rajat Kaushik, DCP Central, spoke to the media.
“We do not trespass on any spot, but we sell dry fruits on pedestrian walkways,” said Riyaz Wani, a dry fruit salesman who has been coming to Lucknow for the last 10 years.” We always comply with the authorities; when they ask us to leave, we go without hesitation. We were clearing the area again this time, but we were not given enough time to pack our belongings, and the officials abruptly tossed our bags away “Wani said.” It has become usual,” he continued.” Every year, this occurs to us. Based on our appearance, they immediately recognise us as Kashmiris. They continue to question us who we are, where we are from, and if the police station has validated our identities. “It happens more often to men who have grown beards,” alleged Riyaz.
An alleged right wing group assaulted two Kashmiri roadside sellers in Lucknow in 2019. Later, a complaint was filed against unidentified males at Lucknow’s Hasanganj police station under sections 147, 323, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the suspects were detained at midnight.
