Sonamarg, July 1: Traders of this picturesque resort have alleged that hundreds of kanal of land in the area has been encroached upon.
 “The green belt area which is being encroached is a few yards away from the office of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA). Illegal encroachment in Sonamarg and government’s indifference is making tourists stay away from this exotic place,” traders said.
 “Lack of proper sanitation, parking facility and accommodation is withering the charm of Sonamarg, the place also known as the meadow of gold has been turned into a garbage dump,” traders said.
 Heaps of garbage lying unattended in front of the shops and other business establishments irks visitors. “This is a beautiful and natural tourist place and should be kept neat and clean,” said a tourist Vinay Thakur from Delhi.
 Traders said that the parking and traffic management is the major problem. Pertinently, traders and shopkeepers of Sonamarag had observed a shutdown  against non availability of parking slot, illegal encroachments and fast pace destruction of the greenery in the area last week.
 Protesters were demanding that the old truck yard be used for parking of vehicles to preserve the greenery of the spot.
 “A major portion of the land coming under the Green belt area at Sonamarg is being illegally used for parking and other purposes due to which the greenery of the area is getting destroyed very fast,” said G M War, President Beopar Mandal Sonamarg.
 “It is strange that vehicles are being allowed to be parked on the roads and on the green fields,” said Shabir Ahmad a shopkeeper.
 When contacted Chief Executive Officer Sonamarg Muhammad Yusuf told Greater Kashmir the bad weather had hampered the construction of parking slots in the area. “We are going to shift old truck yard from its present place to newly established truck yard and are taking every measure to preserve greenry in the area and to avoid traffic jam.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 1 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 1 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 2 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST