Hyderabad: Traders from Kashmir and Gujarat are upset as they incurred heavy losses in the Exhibition Grounds fire on Wednesday and are not sure how they can get fresh handloom and handicraft materials from their states in such a short time.
The government has extended support by extending the exhibition deadline, but it is not clear if they will have sufficient stocks to reap the benefits.
Mukhtar Ahmed and Shahid from Kashmir had set up dry fruit and saffron stalls. They had brought material worth Rs 25 lakh.
Shahed said he lost 5kg of saffron to the fire. He said around 70 traders had arrived to showcase their products, but most of them will not be able to re-establish their businesses for some time. “We are ruined completely,” he said.
On behalf of the Kashmiri traders, he has requested that either the Telangana state government or the Exhibition Society provide them full compensation as they will not get any help from their state government.
Ahmed Ali, a handloom trader from Kashmir, explained, “We give orders to manufacturers and pay them in advance to get handlooms and handicrafts. Now that they know that we have suffered losses in the fire, they will not take our orders. The manufacturers will first demand money and only then send the material. It is not possible for us to do business now.”
Traders whose shops were gutted have lost hope. They say they are ruined and will not be able to reopen their stalls, as it will take at least a week to remove debris and another week to erect the stalls again.
They say they cannot purchase the material from here. Manufacturers and wholesale traders will not supply the material on credit.
The next most affected traders are the Gujaratis. J. Vinod from Sunandanagar in Gujarat said over 40 traders of his community were affected.
