SRINAGAR: In an unprecedented move, Kashmir Valley based business community Monday boycotted the pre-budget deliberations with the state administration and said they will observe the proposed meeting dates as black days.
Addressing a joint news conference here, an amalgam of all major trade bodies said they will observe the pre-budget deliberation dates as black days to protest the failure of the government in addressing the issues facing the business community of the Valley. After 2014 deluge in Kashmir, the state government has miserably failed to rehabilitate the traders, they said.
Those represented at the press meet,included The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry(KCCI), Federation Chamber of Industry Kashmir (FCIK), Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEI), Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association (KHARA), Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Federation (KHARF), Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK), House Boat Owners Association (HBOA), Transport Associations and Fruit Growers Association. KEA Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Khan said that the tall claims of the state administration proved hoax on the ground as they have failed to rehabilitate the Valley traders here thereby leaving them in lurch.
All hopes have been belied, Khan said, adding The experience with the present government has been very disturbing and discouraging.
Khan said a reign of terror has been unleashed through the raids conducted by commercial taxes department, labour department, and income tax department to harass the business community.
They extort undue tax from business people. Although government has received 26% higher tax revenue than the previous year during the corresponding period, he said.
Aafaq Qadiri, President FCIK, said that the tourism, transport, industrial and handicrafts sectors continue to bleed due to the wrong policies and priorities of the government.
While taking a dig at Mufti government, he said the industrial sector has seen a significant fall in production post floods. The plight has worsened due to non-payment of bills by the government departments, non-implementation of rehabilitation package and short supply of power, multiplied by unscheduled power cuts, resulting in share decline in production.
For the first time in the history of Kashmir the industrial estates have been directed to snap the electricity supply to unit holders after 5 pm. This is ridiculous and nonsense.
Javaid Burza of Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Association said that the tourism sector is suffering huge losses due to the wrong policies of the government regarding the promotional activities, the neglect of huge existing infrastructure, projecting deceitful tourist arrival figures, favouring a group of vested interests to put up and expand high end hotels ignoring environmental concerns and carrying capacity of tourist destinations.
A mind boggling figure of 500 crore have been spent during the past ten years for the development of new tourist destinations through development authorities but hardly one or two are operational, he said
The traders bodies while demanding a high level inquiry and audit in the working, funding and expenditure of the tourism department said that the fudging tourist arrival figures require a high level independent enquiry.
KTMF, President, Muhammad Sadiq Baqal said that the recently formed tourism advisory board has been set up to loot the state. The board has been formulated to sanction land to outsiders and loot our resources, he said.
Baqal said that the recently formed tourism advisory board has been set up to loot the state. He claimed that it has been formed to sanction land to outsiders and loot our resources.
The board has only 6 local members while the rest are from outside, he said. They want to give outsiders land to establish their hotels and units in the state. This government has failed on all fronts and they have no moral authority to cling to the chair now.
On the sidelines of the presser here, Fayz Bakhshi, a senior member of KCCI said that the state government was trying its level best to approach the traders organizations but the traders bodies will never show its presence in the pre-budget deliberations.
Traders Body Contests 2014 Official Figures
While taking a dig at Mufti Sayeed led PDP-BJP collation government, the traders body of Kashmir Monday ridiculed the official claims that 9 lac tourists visited Kashmir Valley last year.
Government is misleading the people and the world Community, said Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries member, Faiz Bakhshi. A mere 1 to 2 lac tourists visited Kashmir last year.
Bakhshi was talking on the sidelines of a presser here. He said that the claims were baseless and it was attempt to hush up the amount of Rs 500 crore released by the union government last year for the newly established Development Authorities.
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