JHRBA for expediting work on Jammu projects

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 7: Jammu Hotel Restaurant and Bar Association (JHRBA) has appreciated the Government for giving due consideration to tourism projects for Jammu province, in the Budget 2013-14 and urged to expedite the pace of work in projects like Tawi Barrage, Cable Car project, Ambaran sites etc to boost tourism in Jammu.
In a meeting held here, members of JHRBA pleaded the Government to reduce the license fee of Bars in hotels and restaurants, as the same caters to the tourists visiting the sites. Moreover, when additional license fee and assessment fee are levied on the sales of bottles, the bar license fee should be bear minimum, they added.
The speakers requested the Government to rationalize the taxes on liquor and levy it at first point instead of in the shape of Excise duty, Bar license fee, etc.
The meeting also urged the Government to give industrial status to the hotels, bars and restaurants, and accordingly charge electric tariff on industrial rates instead of commercial tariff.
The private-public partenership is very essential to give boost to the Tourism industry, the speakers said and urged the Government to develop destination by providing the basic infrastructure and invite private players to provide state of art best services to the tourists.
Besides, JHRBA, members of All Jammu Hotel Lodges Association and Jammu Paryatan Vikas Mandal including Kuldip Wahi, Ravi Mahajan, Inderjeet Khajuria and Chander Gupta also participated in the meeting.