Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 17: Shopkeepers in Batamaloo area of Srinagar protested today against the alleged unfair demolitions of their shops, accusing the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) of corruption and biased targeting.
Expressing their grievances, the shopkeepers lamented that the SDA demolished their shops without any prior notice, resulting in huge financial losses as they were unable to save their goods and other essential items.
“The SDA people came suddenly with bulldozers and demolished my shop without any explanation or notice. They even prevented customers from leaving the shop. We have all the legal papers for the shop,” a shopkeeper said.
He alleged that the SDA engages in corrupt practices, first allowing the construction of the shops and then demolishing them. “They destroyed all the food and other items, amounting to about Rs 30,000. Who will compensate me for that loss? The SDA officials did not even let me retrieve cash from the drawer, and he took it himself. I do not understand what kind of hooliganism this is. I want to ask the authorities, do not the poor have the right to earn a livelihood? We come here to sustain our families, so why are we being treated like this? Why are these officials, who earn hefty salaries, targeting poor people like us? What will we eat?” he questioned.
The shopkeepers demand compensation for the losses they suffered as a result of the demolitions. They said that the entire bus stand was illegal, yet only specific shops were destroyed. “We rented these shops from the SDA. I have all the necessary documents, and the court has ordered a status quo, which the SDA officials have violated,” another shopkeeper said.
Shopkeepers claim that they pay a monthly rent of Rs 900 to the SDA and have electricity meters installed in their shops, emphasizing that the demolitions were orchestrated by corrupt officials within the SDA. They allege that the demolition drive was carried out under the influence of an employee with vested interests, who is being aided by another employee involved in constructing a shopping complex.
The shopkeepers appeal to the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, to intervene and investigate the matter thoroughly.
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