Srinagar: A delegation of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by President Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad, held a meeting with Vijay K Kumar, Advisor to the Governor regarding the attack on properties of Kashmiri businessmen in Shimla.
Ahmad requested the Advisor to consider taking measures for reassuring the Kashmiri Business Community operating outside the State that their lives and property are safe.
“Advisor assured the delegation that he would be taking up the issue with His Excellency the Governor and also the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh. He also said that he would be proposing to include the facilitation of business community facing such regional problems to the already designated Liaison Officers for addressing issues of students functioning under the direct supervision of the Resident Commissioner, New Delhi. It may be mentioned that the above referred liaisoning infrastructure was constituted by the State Administrative Council (SAC) vide it’s decision dated 14th of November, 2018,” KCCI said in a statement.
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The Kashmir Chamber would also be taking up this issue with the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir for issuance of appropriate directions and interventions, the statement added.
Ahmad while appreciating the efforts of the administration for the prompt response to the untimely snowfall in early November by declaring it as “Special Natural Calamity”, it needed to be ensured that the compensation reached the affected farmers at the earliest.
The delegation also raised the issue of complaints of harassment of business establishments by the Traffic Authorities and the multiplication of footpath vendors in the Central Business District. The Advisor asked the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir to look into the issues raised by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry by holding a meeting of all the concerned stakeholders.
Recently, a mob ransacked shops of Kashmiri businessmen in Rohru Tehsil of Shimla after a severed head of calf was found in the market.
According to a report, the angry mob first vandalized a vegetable market belonging to some Muslims.
“Then they attacked our shops in main market of Rohru. Protesters were carrying hammers, iron roads, and sticks. They broke shop shutters and started vandalizing everything. Police was there but they were standing as ‘mute spectators’,” Mudasir Ahmed, a Kashmir shopkeeper said.
Chamber, in a press conference while expressing outrage over the incident said that goons being patronized by the state.
