First succour, then sustenance —wrapped in fine cashmere and nurtured by Bengal’s loving sanctuary.

Three Kashmiri youths who were earlier offered the security of secular Bengal at a time when the Valley was under an unprecedented clampdown have now been given an opportunity to augment their income and also send money back home.

Nasir Ahmed, Tariq Ahmed and Ramiz Ahmed have been allotted space at Pous Mela, Santiniketan’s annual fair where people come from all over Bengal and outside, including foreign countries.

Earlier in November, when the restrictions on mobile phone services began to be gradually lifted, the three youths got in touch with Birbhum Trinamul leader Abhijit Sinha, with whom they had struck up a friendship during a pilgrimage he undertook to Amarnath.

The three youths from tourist paradise Pahalgam in Anantnag district told Sinha that the clampdown accompanying the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status had robbed them of their livelihood and they had no money to even afford food.

Sinha, a Trinamul vice-president and Birbhum zilla parishad mentor, told them to come to Birbhum.

Now, the trio have been given space at the Trinamul stall on the Pous Mela grounds so that they can sell their stock of shawls that they had brought from Kashmir.

“We are so happy to be here…. Not only are we safe, we are also doing brisk business,” Nasir told this correspondent at Pous Mela. Tariq and Ramiz nodded.

The youths, aged between 25 and 35 years, said they had elderly parents and siblings back home.

Ramiz said their livelihood had always depended on the sale of shawls to tourists, but their source of income was dealt a debilitating blow when the government imposed the clampdown. He said he couldn’t sell a single shawl till the first week of November, when they sought Sinha’s help.

According to Sinha, the Trinamul stall was set up with the objective of explaining the party’s stand against the NRC and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. At the last minute, the district leaders have woven Kashmir into the narrative by putting up posters urging people not to forget the plight of Kashmiris and to stand by them.

Nasir said that since Tuesday they had sold shawls worth Rs 80,000. The shawls are priced between Rs 600 and Rs 32,000. “We had come with 1,200 shawls and have already sold half of them. We are grateful to the people of Bengal,” Nasir said.