Ticket price hike keeps moviegoers away in Jammu

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News service

Jammu, August 3

The entertainment tax levied by the state government has not only disheartened the youth as the price of a movie ticket in a multiplex has jumped above Rs 200 per ticket from July 1 but also affected the business of multiplexes by 40 per cent.

Jammu is the main victim of the decision of the Finance Minister, who had announced tax on entertainment, as there is no cinema hall in Kashmir.

Cinema halls of Jammu were tax free since 2006 as Ghulam Nabi Azad-led PDP-Congress government had made it tax free for 10 years to revive the industry in Jammu. The government had levied tax from April 1 this year during the Governor’s rule, but on the request of multiplex owners of Jammu, Governor NN Vohra had extended the tax exemption for next three months.

In the budget presented by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, 50 per cent tax had been levied on entertainment, which made the price of a movie ticket above Rs 200.

Jammu has four multiplexes with 10 auditoriums, while there is one at Katra and one at Kathua.

“At the start of this month ‘Sultan’ was released, which was a super-hit movie. So it hardly affected our business. But later when ‘Kabali’, ‘Great Grand Masti’ and ‘Dishum’ were released, we felt the heat of the price hike,” said Vinod Koul, manager, Apsara Multiplex.

Multiplex owners also approached the Finance Minister with a request to reduce the tax up to 25 per cent, but nothing has been done so far.