ZT News Network
Srinagar: Commenting on the joint business media conference held in Srinagar today, Baldev Singh Raina, Chairman PHDCCI-Kashmir has said that, as a leading national Chamber, “we are here in this Joint Press Conference in a post-Covid follow up for the earlier demands jointly raised by amalgam of all trade and business associations of Kashmir with the Home Minister, Finance Minister and MoS Dr Jitender Singh, as till date there is no breakthrough or announcements for rescue of trade and business of J&K has been ensured.
In a statement received by Ziraat Times, Mr Baldev said “that the PHD chamber as National Chamber is committed to support the local trade associations to overcome the challenges and obstacles they are unable to address alone. Our core purpose is to energise the local economy by supporting, connecting, protecting and educating our local businesses. Raina, stated that although we represent the Leading National Bussiness chamber of India but we firmly believe that by supporting and working together with these local trade associations we can not only better address shared problems collectively and benefit the local economy but also help them to improve the quality of policy advocacy and bussiness representation in governance of our Union Territory of J&K.”
Raina said that as a chamber “we laud the extensive relief measures announced by Central Government to mitigate the daunting impact, on economy’s most vulnerable sectors, caused by pandemic COVID-19 but the announced relief package by the Government has no provisions specifically for J&K. This has caused huge disappointments to all the stakeholders of J&K.”
“The businesses across the Union Territory of J&K are confronting extreme economic challenges not only as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but as we have been in a near lockdown situation since August 2019.In view of that on behalf of our members and business fraternity of Union Territory of J&K, apart from joint delegation the PHD chamber leadership at National level has also approached the Hon`ble Prime Minister, Hon`ble Home Minister and Hon`ble Finance Minister and have submitted a sincere representation on behalf of whole trade and bussiness community of J&K requesting that for special economic package for UT of J&K, keeping in view the lock down of J&K as practically all economic activities have been under stress due to reorganisation of J&K into UT from Aug-2019”, Raina added.
He further said that today’s Joint Press conference plays a crucial role in reiterating our set of specific demands as the whole business entities of J&K are now resulting drying up of revenue and the industries can only stay afloat for a limited time by eating into their reserves, and already the businesses across J&K have exaushted their reserves from past 10-months.
Raina mentioned that in our representation to government, the PHD chamber has outlined that among other sectors Tourism being the mainstay for livelihood has hit hardest in the UT of J&K, and now we iterate through this Joint Press conference that we have reached a stage where all economic activities of J&K are staring at a potential job and business loss and foreseeing bankruptcies, closure of businesses and mass unemployment, therefore, we believe that decision in form of special situmulus package and fiscal relaxations for standard businesses of UT of J&K at this critical time can make the difference between staying in business or closing permanently.
” The situmulus package announced for rest of the country is witness to that fact that the organized even leading industries of India couldn’t tolerate the lockdown for 2-Months and we in J&K are felling the brunt of Lockdown from past almost one year”, he added.