Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 6: Hoteliers, lodges owners and other businessmen of Old Jammu City have demanded special financial package and loan waiver in view of lockdown and losses suffered by the traders.
Talking to media persons, some leaders from bussiness community including Imran Salaria president Hotel Association, Khurshid Beg, Bilal Khan, Latif Sofi and others projected the issues of the Jammu businessmen. Jammu Muslim Front president Qazi Imran also joined.
Shuja Zaffar, Chairman JMF put forward demand on behalf of traders of Old Jammu City who have suffered losses due to no fault of them, since August 5, 2019. He said Govt ordered evacuation of all tourist from State when season was in the full bloom and Amarnath yatra was going on bussiness houses were to earn handsome profit. But unplanned Govt order of lockdown put trader community under shock and business community honoured the Govt order. This sudden order on bussiness community yielded tremendous pressure while Govt ordered all tourists to vacate, resulted in loss from petty trade to industrial units even horticulture agriculture borne the burnt of this sudden order.
“Sudden lockdown, affected the business community and the cash flow suddenly dropped to zero resulting closure of many units. Thus to save the business and to plug financial losses, bussiness houses were compelled to curtail staff with heavy heart,” he added.
As a result, other allied activities of hotel industry such as small transporter, taxi operators, travel agents, potters, bakers, tailors, grocery stores, vegetable vendors, Dabas, restaurants, meat sellers, fruit vendors, dry cleaners, pony walas and other allied activities were shut down to honour the decision of the Government for revocation of Art 370 and Art 35-A. The hotels, lodges, and restaurant owners across Jammu suffered badly with the abrupt closing down of their establishments.
Meanwhile, the trader community demanded financial package, waiver of loan, remission of electricity bills, income tax waiver, school fee waivers, so that the bussiness houses feel relaxed and concentrate on bussiness and rehabilitate the staff ultimately will benefit the society.
The Hotel and Lodge Associations demand that Jammu is purely dependent on religious pilgrimage which should be started as early as possible for the sustainability of the Jammu business. The air, train and bus services be allowed regularly to operate.
Zaffar appealed the Government to rescue the Jammu business houses and announce a relief package, waiver of bank loans and also order all the banks to sanction loans at differential rate of interst so as to revive them.
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