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Lifestyle Pressure Fuels Household Debt Crisis In Kashmir
Kashmir Observer
|AUGUST 9, 2025 ISSUE
Asif Ahmad still rolls up his sleeves before every cup of tea, as if he’s bracing for work.
Even in his small living room in Srinagar's Rainawari, where the kettle whistles softly, his body carries the weight of the past year.
It has been nearly twelve months since his daughter's wedding, a celebration that left him with memories, a few fading photographs and a mountain of debt.
He borrowed _ 8 lakh from a bank and another 2 lakh by pawning the family’s last gold ornaments. The flowers withered in two days. The band stopped playing before midnight. The guests went home full and smiling. But the bills stayed.
Today, Asif pays back 16,000 every month from his 34,000 salary. With no savings left, stress is his only constant companion.
This story is from the AUGUST 9, 2025 ISSUE edition of Kashmir Observer.
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