Cost of Distrust

How political decisions by two countries hit a livelihood system based on cross-border business

- Jyotika Sood

For over a decade, he had almost guaranteed employment at least once in two days. But today Michael, a porter at the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar district of Punjab, has to fight every day to get work. The life of porters, traders, truckers, and their whole ecosystem has come to a halt since August 9, 2019, when Pakistan suspended trade with India a few months after India hiked import tariffs on products from the neighboring country to 200 per cent. With the loss of nearly Rs 30 crore that was being added to the local economy of Amritsar every month, lives, livelihood and a border trade economy have been crippled.

“Before the trade stopped, I was earning around Rs 15,000 per month. Now I earn just Rs 1,000-2,000. We have to look for new employment opportunities, though there are not many options,” says Michael, describing the situation of around 2,500 families of porters and helpers. “Many are quitting the vocation due to uncertainties caused by political decisions.”