In Srinagar, boom is a good word

Once it meant  blasts, today it means ringing cash registers

SRINAGAR: Retired employees of public sector banks are usually averse to taking risks. More so if the place is Srinagar, where a hard fought battle against militancy makes life itself a risky proposition. But a booming Sensex is making at least some people buck the trend.

Sixty-year-old retired bank employee Asadullah Bhat is one such individual, who has invested his hard-earned gratuity savings in the stock market.

“In 2005 I invested Rs300,000 but earned only Rs30,000. This time I invested the same amount and earned Rs50,000 to Rs60,000 in just three days,” said an ecstatic Bhat. Altaf Ahmad, 40, a government employee, invested Rs700,000 in 2004 and bought stocks of 25 different companies.

“I had not sold the stocks because the share value had gone down considerably. Now after the boom my stocks too have regained their value and I have recovered Rs 150,000 so far,” he said.

This is just a tip of iceberg.

“The mindset is changing,” said Bashir Ahmad, proprietor of Friendship Securities. “This time the real estate shares are the in thing and one of my clients invested Rs90,000 in DLF shares a few months ago. Today the value has doubled.”

Such is the trend that even the small and rural townships are experiencing a boom of stock brokerage houses.

“I had one brokerage office in 2003. Today I have 13 branches in far flung areas like Kupwara. My clientele have grown to 4500 and people in rural areas too are investing in the stock markets,” added Bashir.  

Six years back, SA Khan invested huge amount in technology shares but had to suffer huge loses because of the lack of understanding of the volatile market.

“I learned a lot from my experience. I lost 40 per cent investment in day trading but in the last two years I am earning huge profit,” said Khan.

Prof Nissar Ali, member, State Finance Commission, said the stock market is still in its infancy. “It’s growing. Roughly Rs650 to Rs700 crore might have been invested by people in the market,” he said.

Market analysts, however, put the investment between Rs1000 to Rs1500 crore.

“My clientele have invested Rs250 crore in the stock market. There are 36 brokerage houses and the quantum of money is between Rs1000 to Rs1500 crore,” said Bashir.