The brick kiln owners today said that they have been suffering huge financial losses since last year and yet the authorities were indifferent to their plight.
In a statement here today, the owners under the banner of “Kashmir Brick Manufactures’ Association” accused the authorities of “intimidating” the kiln owners without appreciating the problems they have been facing right from August 2019.
The association said that first because of the clampdown after abrogation of special status of erstwhile state of J&K and then because of the covid19 lockdown, the industry has suffered immense financial losses.
The statement said: “The abrogation of Article 370 last year was not less than a catastrophe. It affected the entire business community of Kashmir in general and brick kiln business in particular. Our labourers fled overnight due to which kiln owners suffered heavy losses.
“Accordingly the production was drastically reduced. As a consequence of it the kiln owners lost hefty amounts overnight which they had already given in advance to the non-local labourers,” the statement said.
“As if it was not enough, the COVID-19 pandemic this year further aggravated our position as all our labourers come from outside of J&K,” it said.
“Considering the present crisis and official apathy faced by us, it is most unlikely that the kilns will operate this year. The working season for the kilns in Kashmir is very short, which usually lasts for just 4 months, starting from June,” it said.
The association said that the kiln owners had approached the office of Divisional Commissioner Srinagar to seek permission for the movement of labourers from the outside J&K, but it seems no body is genuinely concerned.
“We may lose one more season to the official apathy and procedural delays. By this time, 40 per cent fresh brick production would have been completed had we been allowed to start operations and bring back our labourers.”
“The government has not given any sort of relief/exemption to this ailing industry,” it said, adding that no exemption or any concession on account of royalty, water tax, GST, etc. has been given to the kilns. “Against this, we are supposed to pay all fixed costs including rent of land, salary of employees, etc. which amounts to Rs 40-50 lakh for a normal kiln a year,” it said.
On the increase in the rate of bricks, the association said: “The rates of bricks in Kashmir have not been revised since 2016, though the rates in Jammu division were revised to Rs 6943 per thousand bricks without freight from 01.04.2020 by the Deputy Commissioner Jammu vide order dated 16.03.2020.
“Time and again we raised this issue with the authorities but they don’t listen to our genuine grievances. This is a clear case of regional discrimination where we have been denied the ‘right to freedom of trade’ and ‘right to equality’.”
The association said that it had a meeting with Deputy Commissioner, Budgam on 24.06.2020. “We put forth our genuine grievances in the meeting but instead of listening to us, he intimidated us of dire consequences if any violation on our part is reported,” the association alleged.
The association appealed to the Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, to “issue formal closure orders of all the kilns operating in his jurisdiction so that we may not face any sort of harassment at the hands of administration”.
“We are genuinely concerned about the soaring price of bricks which is purely a demand and supply crisis. These crisis are 100% human made and can be resolved if there is a genuine administrative intervention,” it said.