Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 17:- Chairman People’s Democratic Front (PDF), Hakeem Yaseen has expressed concern over the Government’s move to close down and privatise four public sector undertakings PSUs working under Industries and Commerce Department adding that the move would give a serious blow to the employment generation and industrial promotion plans in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement issued on Friday, Hakeem Yaseen while flaying Government decision to privatise and auction assets of some PSUs including JKI, SICOP, Handloom Corporation, JK Cements Ltd and JK Minerals in Jammu and Kashmir, has said that the move was against the overall interests of the people of the UT as it was bound to snatch livelihood of the hundreds of workers besides giving a serious blow to the promotion of industrial culture in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said instead of closing down the PSUs, the Government should infuse fresh blood in them to make them profitable enterprises. He said Kashmir under JKI has a significant historical and cultural background and soft stuffed Kashmiri silk produced in Kashmir has earned a distinct name and fame as a choicest royal attire world over. Similarly, about 2700 small and micro level industries in Jammu and Kashmir are associated with SICOP to sell their produce to various Government departments. ” In view of these facts, the proposal to merge or privatise the PSUs in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was totally unfounded and against the overall interests of the UT and the workers, employees and unit holders associated with these organizations”. He said merger of Handloom Development Corporation (HDC) with Handicrafts Department too will give a death nail to the various handloom promotion initiatives in vogue in the UT.
He has stressed the need for shelving the proposals regarding privatisation and merger of various PSUs.
He also expressed his concern over the entry of thousands of outside migratory labourers in herds in the Valley without undergoing mandatory health screening at various entry points. He has cautioned the administration against the possible fall out of the unchecked entry of migratory labourers in the Valley. He said there were credible reports that thousands of labourers in herds loaded in buses and trucks, each day , are brought to the Valley by unknown agents , without having COVID testing, which was apprehended to spread a sever wave of Corona Virus infection in nook and corner of the Valley , which can not be controlled, if not addressed immediately.
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