SRINAGAR: The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Executive Committee and various stakeholders held a marathon meeting with the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, at the Chamber office on Wednesday.
A KCCI statement said Senior Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Muzaffar Shah, was also present at the meeting. The President, Javed Ahmad Tenga, headed the KCCI team. The meeting was also attended by leaders of various trade associations from uptown and Shehre Khas.
The issues discussed included those related to Polo View Market, Residency Road, Lal Chowk, Hari Singh High Street, parking woes, Shehre Khas roads/footpaths, fire fighting systems, footpaths, Smart City projects, traffic management, decongestion of city roads, non-functional drainage, poorly maintained public washrooms, the public transport system, Amarnath Yatra arrangements and restrictions on tourist movement, renewal of tourism registration certificates, licenses of hotels/houseboats/tour and travel agencies/guest houses/restaurants/lodges, free traffic movement and tourist pick-up/drop facility at Boulevard, permission for repairs/renovation/reconstruction in the hospitality sector, the carrying capacity of tourist destinations, ease of doing business/single window system, handicrafts and export issues, and quick allotment of warehousing space. Conservation of natural resources, the pitiable status of wetlands, solid waste management/disposal of solid and liquid waste into wetlands and water bodies, flood prevention measures, setting up a joint tourism consultative committee of officials and stakeholders for smoother tourism operations, and non-accessibility to shops due to the occupation of footpaths were among other issues discussed with the Divisional Commissioner.
The SSP Traffic stated that automatic traffic signals would start functioning very soon, which would streamline the movement of traffic. He added that on-road traffic had hugely increased, and despite this, necessary measures were being taken to improve vehicular traffic flow and commuting. He admitted that Srinagar is beset with parking issues that need to be addressed, the KCCI statement said.
The Divisional Commissioner, while taking note of the matters raised in the meeting, asked the President of KCCI to submit a comprehensive note of issues raised by KCCI and trade representatives. He added that to overcome the traffic woes, the government has floated tenders for the operation of water transport in Jhelum and Dal Lake. He assured that the issues raised in the meeting would be seriously considered and efforts made to resolve them.
The KCCI President and his team felicitated the Divisional Commissioner and the SSP Traffic. He also thanked them for favorably considering KCCI pleas from time to time and expressed gratitude for sparing time out of their busy schedules to visit the office of KCCI, founded 100 years ago and the fourth oldest Chamber of Commerce in India.
