J&K industry may lose 15 bln rupees due to agitation

MUMBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Industries in India's Jammu & Kashmir state have suffered a cumulative loss of over 15 billion rupees in the last two weeks due to the ongoing agitation, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India estimated.

The worst hit industrial sectors in the nothern Indian state include tourism, fruits, hosiery, carpets, handicrafts, dry fruits, forest-based products and herbs, Sajjan Jindal, president of the association, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Exports from Jammu fell by at least 30 percent, while silk and handicraft industries, leather products, fruit juice concentration and processed food have also suffered enormously, the trade body said.

If the agitation continues, the economy of the state will be hit as investors who have committed over 50 billion rupees of investment for 2008/09 will depart to other destinations in neighbouring states, the association said.

Investments in the Jammu & Kashmir region has surged nearly 10 times in six years to more than $2.3 billion in 2007, it said.

The association had earlier estimated fresh investments of about 280 billion rupees in the state with export potential of 130 billion by 2012, but the agitation has marred these projections, it said.

A simmering land dispute has polarised Indian Kashmir, split between Muslim-majority Kashmir valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city, severely curbing trade between the two areas. (Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)