The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday said highway restrictions will have repercussions on the Valley’s economy besides causing inconvenience to commuters.
Addressing a press conference here, president KCCI SheikhAshiq said the order is unacceptable to all stakeholders.
“The order has been issued without considering its impact onthe population of Kashmir and is indicative of the lack of awareness of localproblems. At a time when the Kashmir Chamber has been raising the issue of lackof alternative routes and means of travel to Kashmir, the closure of the onlyavailable road link would put the whole population to unimaginableinconvenience and will have disastrous consequences for our economy,” Ashiqsaid.
“We do not have afull-fledged rail link, or any means of water transport. Air travel, due to thewrong policies of the Civil Aviation ministry, is out of bounds because of highfares and heavy movement of security forces from the civilian airport,” hesaid.
“Even without the formal banning of civilian movement,travelling on the highway is already a nightmare and only necessary andunavoidable traffic movement is being conducted. The banning will bring furtherchaos and confusion. It will also impede the movement of goods includingessentials like sheep, poultry, etc. and raise the transportation costs.Airfares would also escalate,” he added.
Ashiq said the decision to restrict traffic movement on thehighway was “illogical” and would be condemned “tooth and nail” by Kashmir’sbusiness community. “Numerous elections have been held in the state and at nopoint of time have we witnessed the creation of such paranoia and panic. It isunprecedented and alienating. The state needs to deal with the situationwithout encroaching on the rights of the public,” he said.
“The order will also negatively impact the inflow oftourists to our state and interfere with the booking schedules and plans oftourists. We are not aware of such a restriction of any tourist destination inthe world. At a time when the government and tourism players are making effortsto revive the tourism sector, these actions would not be well taken,” saidAshiq.
The KCCI president said the order also disrupts the smoothmovement of fruit-laden trucks from Srinagar for which April and May arecritical months. The horticulture sector will also suffer due to the impact onthe movement of fruits and vegetables.
He added that the KCCI seeks immediate revocation of theorder and has sought time from the governor for a meeting in this regard.
ISRAELI-STYLE ORDER: MUSHTAQ CHAYA
Prominent Kashmir businessman and hotelier Mushtaq AhmadChaya Thursday demanded immediate revocation of the government order banningmovement of civilian traffic for two days every week on the Srinagar-Jammuhighway highway.
In a statement, Chaya wondered how the government couldissue such an order which curtails the fundamental rights of the people inKashmir.
“How could the government issue such an unreasonable order?”Chaya, who is the chairman of PHDCCI Kashmir and the hoteliers’ club, said.
Chaya said the ban will not only cut the valley from rest ofthe world but also bring untold miseries to the local people who are alreadyunder so much distress.
“On the one hand they are talking about bringing tourists tothe Kashmir valley and on the other, they are passing such ‘Israeli-style’orders,” Chaya said, according to the statement. “What is the message that thegovernment wants to convey?”
Chaya said that a delegation of tourism stakeholders isvisiting the Valley in next few days to take stock of the situation.
“What will they make out of the situation here when youblock the roads for the civilian traffic?” he asked.
Appealing the government to immediately withdraw the order,Chaya asked the authorities to look for an alternative arrangement for themovement of forces’ personnel.