Category: Business

Business

Kashmir safe place for tourists : Priya Sethi

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State Tourism Minister highlights its attractions “There is a false perception that Jammu and Kashmir is an unsafe place, so I request people from Tamil Nadu to visit us and see how the place has changed,” Priya Sethi, Minister of State for Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir, said at a roadshow in Chennai. “The State is a safe place for tourists and I would also like to point out that stone pelting has also come down in the region,” she said. The Minister was here along with a huge delegation from…

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Christmas spreads hope & cheer in ski resort of Gulmarg

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Christmas has brought some good news for the tourism sector in the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir. While a mass was held at the church, other places, like the Gulmarg Gondola, were illuminated. Most of the major hotels were booked as the Tourism Department has lined up a host of activities in the run up to the New Year. “All major hotels are sold out at Gulmarg….an early snowfall this year augured well for the tourism sector and a mass was held on the festive eve. The church,…

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Majority businesses boycotted pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister: JKCC

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Demands JK as free economic zone, revocation of GST Jammu and Kashmir Coordination Committee (JKCC) has expressed gratitude to all those member-organizations which followed its programme of boycotting their participation in pre-budget discussions with the Finance Minister. JKCC said overwhelming majority of business organizations including Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Fed¬eration (KTMF), Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries-Kashmir (CCIK), Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHARA),Kashmir Traders Federation (KTF), Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Union (KVGGDU), All Kashmir Chemists and…

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Industry body supports levy of toll tax at Lakhanpur

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A delegation of Association of Industries led by its president Rattan Dogra met Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and urged him that the levy of toll at Lakhanpur barrier must be continued so as to safeguard and protect the industry. The association submitted that the toll was never intended to be covered and subsumed under the GST. It said toll was levied in many states and National Highway Authority of India continued to collect it even at many points in J&K and elsewhere in the country. The minister promised the association…

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As tourist influx hits rock bottom hoteliers across valley forced to switch businesses

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Owing to the continued slump in the tourist footfall, Kashmir hoteliers are switching their properties for other commercial use to recover the losses. Hoteliers also rue government’s attitude towards the industry in the backdrop of the financial losses they suffered for past many years. Abdul Wahid, President Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Owners Federation (KHAROF), said that they haven’t received any compensation from the government of the losses. “The government didn’t even compensate us for 2014 floods which.” Although Kashmir witnessed political upheavals in 2008 and 2010, the things settled down…

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Low tourist arrivals has affected our livelihood: Houseboat Owners seek CM’s help

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Kashmir Houseboat owners association (KHOA) Wednesday appealed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to announce compensation for them in view of low tourist arrivals in Kashmir. “Due to unfortunate unrest, the valley has witnessed total decline of tourism and incurred heavy loss to the tourism sector in general and in particular. The houseboat business due to unfavorable circumstances has suffered massive loss. As a result at present, most of the houseboat families are not in a condition to survive their daily livelihood properly,” said Hamid Wangnoo, convener HBOA in a statement. “Houseboats,…

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RBI Cash restrictions attempt to crush Kashmir Economy: Kashmir Inc

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As banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started to restrict cash flow to Jammu and Kashmir by choking supply of high denomination fresh currency notes to banks operating in this region, various Kashmir-based business leaders on Wednesday said it will leave an adverse impact on the already fragile economy of the state. Several banking functionaries on Tuesday had said that RBI has cut down cash supply to the banks in the state which has started pinching their customers especially ATM users. This step is apparently being implemented by…

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Pack your bags for Kashmir gets its first Snowfall and looks Irresistibly Inviting

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Srinagar recorded its first snowfall of this season on Tuesday. Most of the areas in the Valley and in its plains received overnight snow. The city registered a minimum temperature of 3.1 degree Celsius on Monday, which was up by three degrees from normal. The reason for this is an active Western Disturbance developing over north Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. In capital Kashmir, the rains brought the season’s first snow, something which the locals and traders cheered on as they gear up to welcome tourists from across the country in the…

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RBI ‘Cuts’ cash flow to J&K, likely to affect businesses

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Banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun to restrict the flow of fresh currency notes to banks operating in Jammu and Kashmir which in now taking a toll on trade and businesses, highly placed banking executives said on Tuesday. Automated Teller Machines ( ATM) transactions have started getting affected as RBI has reduced the flow of high denomination currency notes to “border states such as J&K”, the executive said while requesting anonymity. He said cash flow from RBI to the state is down by 70 percent. “The state…

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Kashmir boogies to winter’s warmth

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A State initiative offers heritage walks, ethnic food festivals and music shows It’s chilly around the Dal lake on Saturday afternoon, but a cruise-houseboat with an open-air theatre sets off to generate warmth with live music and enthusiastic youngsters. In a bid to reclaim lost social spaces and nose-diving tourism, the Jammu & Kashmir tourism department has started ‘Valley Weekends’, an initiative to infuse new life into the otherwise dull weekends in the conflict-ridden Valley. “The open-air houseboat will be like an open-air theatre. People will perform every weekend. The…

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