Srinagar: The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) on Saturday strongly opposed what it called the arbitrary change of airport parking policy implemented at the Srinagar International Airport.
The trade body said that the policy is putting an extra burden on the tourists, travellers, and local people even as it is causing major inconveniences to the people in the tourism and travel industry.
KCCI said that it had raised this issue with the Airports Authority in a meeting earlier this month.
This undesirable new parking system, the KCCI said, needs attention from the authorities.
KCCI said that in another meeting also held earlier this month, the issue was put before the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, who they said had at that time assured his support in resolving the issue.
People allege that they are being charged even when they arrive and leave the airport within the given time window, during which there are no charges as per the receipts handed over to them by the parking men.
The official order about the toll reads that the vehicle “will be mapped at entry point and will be allowed a reasonable time of 14-minutes to enter the airport for drop-off and pick-up of passengers.”
Despite this, people say they are charged Rs 40 randomly.
The KCCI said that they were assured that the matter would be solved after August 15, however, there has been no respite to the people till now.
The KCCI said that it is receiving complaints from commercial operators as well as private travellers against the unjustified and arbitrary charges being forcibly recovered from them.
The KCCI said that it demands and reiterates that the newly installed toll post be removed at once.
It said that in addition to these unjustified charges, the new toll post causes huge jams at an already jam-packed area, where people arrive hours before their flights and are still caught in a jammed mess.
It said that all this is very discouraging for tourism, keeping in view that the activity has been revived after many decades of lull.
“The new policy is earning us a bad reputation because such a system exists nowhere else. The KCCI has received reports that in case the issue of drop time was not reviewed, it would not be possible for commercial transporters to continue their services beyond Gate No 1/ Security Check Gate,” reads a statement by the trade body.
KCCI said that even as it believes “One Nation One Policy” applies to the whole of India, “why then is a different, discriminatory and undesirable parking policy being adopted in Kashmir?”
The KCCI demands that the newly introduced policy be withdrawn forthwith and the policy that existed previously restored at the earliest. Otherwise, we will be forced to look at it and term it as “KASHMIR ENTRY CESS”, read a statement by the KCCI.
