Category: Business

Business

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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Tourism sector going from Bad to Worse

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Stating that tourism sector is gone from bad to worse, Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club today said that there is less than 5 percent occupancy in Kashmir hotels which is a cause of concern for the hospitality sector. A press statement issued by the JKHC reads that the executive committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya in which all the members of J&K Hoteliers Club along with its Chapter Presidents and Secretaries from Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam were present. The members showed great concern over the…

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Golden Chinar leaves welcome tourists in Kashmir

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The mighty chinars at Naseem Bagh, the University of Kashmir, hold beauty in all seasons, but their grace increases manifolds in autumn when their leaves spread like a crimson blanket all over the campus. “Such scenic beauty is unique to this university and we keep waiting for the autumn for this purpose. The feeling of the university is incomplete without autumn,” says Saba Bhat, 23, who is pursuing post graduation in English. Not only students, but hundreds of visitors also come to the Naseem Bagh campus to see the autumn…

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Centre gives nod for three new airports in J&K

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Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today said three new airports would come up in Jammu and Kashmir soon to increase air traffic. “We are looking at the probability of setting up one airport each in north and south Kashmir,” Sinha said at the ‘Ideas Summit’ organised by the Foundation for Resource Development and Education. The event was attended by hundreds of entrepreneurs and established businesses in the hospitality sector of the Valley. He said the night-landing facility at Srinagar International Airport would also start soon to ensure…

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