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The moment Tariq Ahmad, a 27-year-old grocer from Srinagar, saw a social media post announcing the entry of Blinkit, a popular quick commerce app, his heart sank.

For the last five years, Tariq has been juggling multiple roles at his small shop in the city, tending to neighbourhood kids who turn up to buy ice-creams, or to the homemakers who rush to his store for dish soap bars. When the stock depletes, he rides his scooter through Srinagar’s potholed roads, purchasing groceries wholesale in Saraibal, a commercial hub in the city where major distributors are located, just 2 kms from Tariq’s shop. 

“I won’t say I make lakhs, but I earn enough to feed my small family and make ends meet without major difficulties,” he told The Wire. 

But he now believes his days of a convenient life are over. Across Kashmir, there’s been simmering anxiety as one of India’s biggest quick-commerce giants has begun operations. The company delivers essentials right at buyers’ doorsteps at discounted rates. 

Although Blinkit is currently operating only in select pockets of the city, it won’t be long before it expands to other parts.

But experts and economists in Kashmir fear that in the turmoil-ridden region, which has seen its unemployment rates soar rapidly over the last few years, the quick-commerce giant’s entry will likely squeeze out the margins of smaller retail stores. They worry that this will aggravate joblessness in the region.

Tariq, for example, told The Wire he has already reached out to his friends requesting them to help him acquire a car on rent so he can earn by driving tourists around. 

“The companies like Blinkit have direct partnerships with the manufacturers. They have big warehouses furnished with modern technologies that prolong the shelf life of products. They bring the groceries and other essentials right to your doorsteps and at rates much lower than we are selling them,” Tariq said, his words loaded with a sense of resignation. “It’s a no-brainer that we stand no chance.”

Some trader associations in Kashmir also pointed to the recent decision by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council in Meghalaya which refused to grant Blinkit the mandatory trading licence on the grounds that it risks the livelihoods of more than 4,000 local grocery shops in Shillong. 

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