Srinagar, Mar 25: Once counted among major industrial estates of the Valley, the Zainakote IE has lost its charm, courtesy government apathy.
 President of the IE Shahjahan Khan told Greater Kashmir that the industrial units that had turned sick in the wake of strife in Kashmir were longing for their revival for very long now.
 He said there were around 17 sick industrial units in the estate that occupied more than 27 kanals of land. “Most of the unit holders of these sick units have either been allotted plots in Jammu or seem to have lost interest in their units,” said Khan.
 The unit holders alleged that many sick units had become haven for wrong activities, “thus these are a slur to the entire industrial fraternity.”
 The authorities, they said, should re-allot the units to the budding entrepreneurs who could rehabilitate them.
 “This would set the industrial estate back on the rails,” said Khan.
 He said another large chunk of land of 37 Kanals had been allotted to some unit holder, “which, however, is non-functional for past two decades.”
  “It seems that the entrepreneur is not interested in running the enterprise,” he said.
 Besides, he said, around 20 Kanals of land in the estate had been “encroached upon” by local villagers some decades back. He said the land was then bought by the government in early 1970s after paying compensation to the villagers.
 The government, he said, sold the land to an upcoming B.Ed college “that till date is even without fencing.”
 He said the Zainakote Industrial Association had already brought the matter into the notice of the authorities, expecting retrieval of those 20 Kanals of land.
 “However, it seems the authorities have some vested interest in not retrieving the land, for a detailed report already lies in the office of divisional commissioner regarding the status of the land, but nothing is being done in this regard,” he said, adding that the matter needed an immediate attention from the government.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST