Excelsior Correspondent
NAGROTA, Sept 24: Castigating PDP-BJP Government for anti-people policies, Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana today described the service tax on helicopter operations in Mata Vaishno Devi sector as additional burden on the pilgrims and a move detrimental to promotion of pilgrims-tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The unwise decision of the insensitive coalition Government is fraught with the danger of polarization the atmosphere”, Mr Rana said while addressing party workers at Patyari in Nagrota Assembly Constituency.
MLC Bashir Ahmed Veeri also accompanied Mr Rana during tour of the Constituency.
Mr Rana said Jammu and Kashmir is essentially a tourism-state with mainstay of the people heavily dependent on it and instead of providing incentives to the visitors; the visionless Government was creating road-blocks and obstacles by way of levying service tax and road tax. “The Government seems to be hell bent upon impacting tourism activity by its authoritarian decisions”, he maintained.
The Provincial President questioned the decision of imposing service tax even as one of the coalition partners is publicly opposing it and seeking its roll back. “This is a unique situation which casts shadows on the working of the Government and sans collective responsibility”, he said while poop poohing the tall claims of the BJP leaders about waiver of the service tax.
Mr Rana described the service tax as a sinister design to vitiate communal atmosphere, saying this has potential to incite majority community across the country as vested interests always remain in search of issues to generate communal tension.
While urging the people to maintain unity and not get provoked by such decisions, the Provincial President said the PDP and BJP have been beneficiaries of regional tension and communal polarization. Mr Rana warned the Coalition Government against testing the public patience, saying the provocative decision of service tax will not break the unity of people. He said the decision is going to impact the stake holders, associated with tourism trade, besides polarizing the situation.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Veeri said that National Conference has all along stood for equal opportunities development for all the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, as it believes in single-entity of the State.
On this occasion, Mr Rana, who is also MLA Nagrota, and Bashir Ahmed Veeri announced Rs 20 lakh out of their Constituency Development Fund for upgradation of Kishanpur Pumping Station, which caters to the needs of the six adjoining Panchayats, Kishenpur, Sahanu Dhan, Kathar Upper, Kathar Lower, Manwal Patyari and Korga. The scheme was craving for attention for the past two decades. The pumping station will benefit 5,000 people of these areas. Mr Rana also announced Rs 5 lakhs for infrastructural development of Panchayat Patyari.
Mr Rana said a Community Facilitation Centre is being set up at a cost of Rs 21 lakh which will cater to the requirements of the entire area.
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