KCCI slams ‘arbitrary’ changes in Srinagar airport parking policy

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, August 18

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has strongly opposed the “arbitrary” change in the Srinagar Airport parking policy, which, it claimed, is causing extra burden, inconvenience and harassment to tourists, travellers as well as local people.

A statement by the Valley’s top trade body said the detrimental parking system has been introduced at the Srinagar Airport some time ago. KCCI held a meeting with the airport director on August 5 and the matter of arbitrary charges and harassment caused to commercial as well as private vehicles was discussed in detail.

It said the KCCI held a meeting on August 6 with the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, who assured of his support in arriving at a resolution of the controversy.

“The KCCI believed that the matter of multiple entry/parking charges had been partly resolved. It was assured that the remaining issues of entry/ parking/exit would be further addressed after the Independence Day celebrations were over,” it said.

“However, it has been noticed that the problem has only worsened with KCCI receiving numerous complaints from commercial operators as well as private travellers against the unjustified and arbitrary charges being forcibly recovered, despite the assurances to the contrary,” it added.

It also said the KCCI has again repeated its demand that the newly installed toll post be removed at once. “The uncalled for long wait and traffic jam causes huge inconvenience to tourists, at a time when tourism activity has revived after many decades of lull,” it said, while adding that the new policy is earning a bad reputation because such system exists nowhere else.

The KCCI statement said it believes that “One Nation, One Policy” applies to the whole of India but a different undesirable parking policy has been adopted in Kashmir, which is not only discriminatory but undesirable as well.

“The KCCI demands that the newly introduced policy be forthwith withdrawn and the policy that existed previously be restored at the earliest otherwise it will be termed as a ‘Kashmir Entry cess’. The KCCI is hopeful about the issue will be resolved at the earliest,” the statement said.