Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 15: Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today directed the administration to facilitate the cross LoC trade in the State further and encourage the genuine traders by regular and regulated monitoring and appraisal of the trading.
The Chief Minister was addressing a high level meeting to review the cross LoC trade in the State.
Few days back, deputations of traders from Trade Facilitation Centre, Salamabad and Chakkan da Bagh had met the Chief Minister and demanded regularisation of trading and stopping the practice of fake trading activities at the TFCs.
The meeting was also informed that steps are also being taken to streamline the facilities and arrangements at TFC Salamabad and Chakkan da Bagh to make the trading more transparent, facilitative and discourage any faking.
Mehbooba directed to create a single window clearance mechanism of all the concerned agencies at the entry points for checking of passengers so that they don’t feel inconvenienced.
Meanwhile, 29 guests from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) arrived here while 14 Kashmiris crossed over to other side of Line of Control (LoC) in the weekly Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.
Sixty three people also returned to their respective sides this evening at the Kaman Post in Uri sector, official sources said.
The weekly Karvan-e-Aman bus service resumed today after remaining suspended for two weeks.
They said with the arrival of summer, the number of guests from PoK arriving here has witnessed considerable improvement. As many as 29 PoK residents, including 15 women and four children, arrived at Kaman Post after crossing the Aman Setu, peace bridge, on foot to meet their relatives, separated in 1947.
They said 18 Kashmiris, who had gone to the PoK, also returned to their homes after completing their stay cross the LoC. They included six women and two children.
As many as 14 Kashmiris, including four women and a child, crossed over to the other side of LoC to meet their relatives. Meanwhile, 45 PoK residents, including 17 women and five children, returned to their homes.
The weekly bus could not operate last week due to security reasons as Army had launched a search operation at village Adoora in Uri sector after there were some firing previous night. Army stopped the bus, with 14 passengers, at Jabla bridge and later it was decided to suspend the bus for security reasons, sources said adding authorities in PoK were accordingly informed.
Similarly, 20 guests from PoK had also to return to their homes after the bus service was suspended last week.
Earlier, the weekly bus also could not be operated on May 1 after a communication was received from PoK authorities that due to International Workers’ day was a holiday, the weekly service has been suspended.
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