Lucknow: 'Harassed, Humiliated', Nowhere to Go, Kashmiri Dry Fruit Vendors Stare at Bleak Future

Lucknow: The usually hustling and bustling Lucknow’s iconic Samta Mulak Crossing and 1090 Crossing on Monday wore an eerily deserted look a day after the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) removed Kashmiri dry fruit vendors. Located near the Gomti River area, hawkers who sell some of the best walnuts, almonds, cashews, raisins, pistachios, dried apricots, figs and saffron in the Uttar Pradesh continue to stare at a bleak future. 

"Gaali sunte hain, maar khate hain lekin phir bhi idhar aa jate hain. Humein shaukh nahi laga hai pitne ke baad bhi 2,000 km aane ka. Lekin jaye kahan? pariwar ka pet palna hai, udhar kashmir me job nahi hai (We get abused, we physically assaulted, yet we come back here. We are really not interested in travelling 2,000 even after being beaten more often, but we are helpless as we have family to feed as there is no job in Kashmir.," a visibly harassed Zubair told NewsClick. 

Zubair, a native of Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, has been visiting Lucknow at the onset of winter every year for the past 7-8 years to sell dry fruits, but he has never encountered such harassment before 2018. 

Recalling the nightmare when he was beaten and was taken into police custody this year in February during an "encroachment drive", he said, "In a similar incident, Lucknow Municipal Corporation officials confiscated our goods and misbehaved with me in the name of encroachment. I was detained along with some others kept at a police station in Gomti Nagar for three days. We were not offered food for three days and treated like we have committed some heinous crime," said Zubair, a graduate in arts who also holds a Bachelors of Library & Information Science degree but could not find a job in the Valley. 

On December 17, Lucknow Municipal Corporation employees removed Kashmiri dry fruit vendors who, spread on the stretch between 1090 and Samta Mulak Crossing. They were physical assault and mistreatment at the hands of Municipal Corporation employees. 

The vendors, in an attempt to accommodate a VIP movement in the area, began packing up their merchandise.

However, as they were preparing to wind up their shops temporarily, municipal and police personnel threatened them and allegedly began snatching their packed dry fruit packets worth several lakhs of rupees. The situation escalated when the vendors tried to resist the confiscation of their belongings.

The vendors alleged, in one of the video clips that went viral on social media, that they were physically assaulted, and their dry fruits were scattered, resulting in significant financial losses.

One of the victims expressed his dismay, stating, “We have been coming to Lucknow to sell dry fruits for the last eight years. Have we caused any harm? Is there any incident Kashmiri involved? Nothing has happened. The authorities could have told us politely to just keep the goods on the side and not on the road. Like every other day, we were seated on the footpath side and there was some VIP movement on Sunday and they asked us to vacate the premises immediately. Before we could do anything, the authorities damaged our dry fruits and started beating us. They were very aggressive." 

Videos of Kashmiri vendors being slapped and bundled into vehicles are making rounds on social media. Later, LMC officials clarified that it was an "anti-encroachment" drive for the VIP movement.

Contrary to the vendors’ claims, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), East, Ashish Srivastava, said that removal was necessary due to a VIP movement scheduled for the stretch between 1090 to Samta Mulak. 

"LMC with police assistance conducts periodic anti-encroachment drives from 1090 to Samta Mulak as this is VIP road. On the day of the incident, the Chief Minister was expected to use the road, prompting the LMC to clear the area of encroachments. The youth selling dry fruits had allegedly misbehaved with LMC authorities, leading to their forceful removal and subsequent detainment at the police station," the DCP said, 

However, at least seven vendors were reportedly charged under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and cautioned to avoid the specified stretch due to VIP movement.

'They Want Kashmir Not Kashmiri'

Mushtaq Butt, 29, sitting silently on the sidewalk with his family, has despair writ on his face. The place where he and his friends are sitting now, was where they used to sell dry fruits. 

Abid and Kashif, who sell dry fruits near 1090 chauraha on the street, are heartbroken after the incident. While talking to NewsClick, they said, “Kashmir chahiye lekin Kashmiri nahi, ye kaise dohra ravaiya hai? (Everybody wants Kashmir but not ready to accept Kashmiris; what kind of double standard is this?)

"We have come from 2,000 km away, we sit on the footpath, not blocking roads or anyone houses. The administration doesn't understand our pain that we have families and kids to feed.”

They believe that the government ought to show them more empathy because they travel such a great distance to provide “excellent -quality” dry fruits at a lower cost than those found in the marketplace.

Another problem the Kashmiri dry fruit vendors have been facing is that they are not getting rooms on rent in Lucknow. However, a Muslim majority area Maulvi Ganj, does accommodate them but after the series of incidents in the past few years, even Muslim landlords keep an eye on them and keep their all documents, including Aadhaar card and voter IDs, with them. 

Read Also: UP: Kashmiri Dry Fruit Seller 'Attacked' In Lucknow, Dry Fruits Thrown into River

This is not the first time that the authorities have conducted an “encroachment drive” between 1090 to Samta Mulak. To recall, in February this year, the LMC carried out a similar anti-encroachment drive against illegal street vendors in Gomti Nagar and removed the vendors. who were found “encroaching roads” in a bid to ease the traffic movement and ensure hassle-free commutation.

These small dry fruit vendors stay here for three to four months (November to February). However, due to the circumstances since the last few years, it seems they will not stay till February. 

One victim’s father, Shabbir, who was taken into police custody on Sunday, told NewsClick, "We had never imagined even in our wildest dreams that all this would happen to our kids. He has been beaten mercilessly for no crime. I was not even allowed to meet him. We work hard throughout the year to grow dry fruits, spend money and bring them here and then this happens to us. Are we really citizens of this country?"

On Monday, a group of lawyers bailed out all seven Kashmiri dry fruit sellers who had been challaned under Section 151 CrPc for selling items on the VIP stretch between 1090 and Samta Mulak Crossing, Anas Ahmad, a lawyer who helped them told NewsClick. 

"Our legal team looked into the case and helped to release all innocent dry fruit sellers who came long way to Lucknow for livelihood," a lawyer said.