Trading in red chili, mangoes, herbs to hit after cross LoC trade shut

Trading of 21 items like red chili, mangoes, herbs and dry fruits will be hit following the indefinite suspension of cross LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Friday.

Around 280 traders, who were directly involved in thetrading will also be affected after the suspension of the business, which hastouched Rs 6,900 crore since its inception in 2008.

   

The 21 items listed for the cross LoC trade include bananas,embroidery items, tamarind, red chili and cumin for exports while importsmainly were almonds, dry dates, dry fruits, herbs, mangoes and pistachio.

Hardening its stand against Pakistan, India Thursdayindefinitely suspended cross-LoC trade at two points along the Line of Controlin Jammu and Kashmir effective Friday, following reports that it was being”misused” by elements from across the border to smuggle weapons,narcotics and fake currency.

The Home Ministry said orders have been issued for haltingthe trade at Salamabad of Baramulla in Kashmir region, and Chakkan-da-Bagh ofPoonch district in Jammu region, after reports of very large scale”misuse” of cross-LoC trade.

The cross-LoC trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad andPoonch-Rawalakote routes was started on October 21, 2008 as a ConfidenceBuilding Measure (CBM).

Trade since 2008 till the 2017 fiscal stood at over Rs 4,400crore at the Uri trading centre, while the figure for the same period at Poonchstood ar Rs 2,542 crore.

Initially, 646 businessmen from Jammu and Kashmir hadregistered for trading in the two crossing points, but the number now stands ataround 280, who are actually involved in conducting the business.

When the cross LoC trade started, initially the business wasfor two days but from October 15, 2011, trading days were extended to four.

The home ministry said a stricter regulatory and enforcementmechanism is being worked out and will be put in place in consultation withvarious agencies. The issue of reopening of LoC trade will be revisitedthereafter.

“It has been revealed that the trade has changed itscharacter to mostly third party trade and products from other regions,including foreign countries, are finding their way through this route.

“Unscrupulous and anti-national elements are using theroute as a conduit for Hawala money, drugs and weapons, under the garb of thistrade,” it claimed.

It said during ongoing investigations of certain cases, theNIA has found a significant number of trading concerns engaged in the LoC tradeare being operated by persons closely associated with banned militant outfits.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

1 × 1 =