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Jammu Sep 29 PTI The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu CCIJ on Wednesday said it will continue its fight for cause of the Jammu province with intensification of movement till it reaches the final conclusion This was conveyed by stakeholders during a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry held here under the chairmanship of Arun Gupta president of CCI Jammu Chamber will continue to fight for cause of Jammu province till this significant battle for genuine rights reaches a logical conclusion Gupta said while warning the government not to test patience of the business community He vowed that the Jammu Chamber will continue to work relentlessly for ensuring that justice is secured for the people of this province especially the traders and industrialists fraternity We will further intensify its movement by even resorting to long term agitation in case the government fails to accept their demands at the earliest Gupta said He urged the government to consider the demands raised by it at the earliest All the demands raised by the Chamber pertaining to various sections of the society across the Jammu province are quite genuine and there is no reason for the government to turn blind eye to the aspirations of people of this province he said The meeting was held in connection with the multifarious demands of the people of the Jammu province for which a complete Jammu bandh supported by various organisations was observed on September 22 on the call of CCI Todays meeting was attended by members of various traders and other associations to discuss the future course of action after the aforesaid successful Jammu Bandh a JCCI spokesman said During the meeting various burning issues currently confronted by the business fraternity were deliberated at length besides discussing the means to be adopted in order to get these issues resolved he added CCIJ has put forth various demands in front of the government including special relief package for various trade and industry sectors and continuation of darbar move an age-old practice under which the JK government functions six months each in the twin capital cities It also discussed the possibility of Wagah-type parade at Suchetgarh and revoking of the notification regarding re-registration of vehicles purchased by local residents from outside the UT and the issue of reliance shops among others PTI AB HRS hrs

Jammu Sep 28 PTI The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry JCCI on Tuesday met Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary here and batted for establishing new public sector undertakings inrailway and defence sectors in the Jammu region A delegation of JCCI met Choudhary here and submitted a memorandum which among other things demanded setting up of new public sector undertakings by the government to generate employment and give fillip to the economy of the Union territory Led by JCCI President Arun Gupta the delegation also sought refund of SGST to industrial units and benefits of new industrial policy to existing unit holders while opposing any move by big companies to open stores in the retail sector in the Jammu region There is a dire need for establishing new public sector undertakings in the Jammu province and in this regard the industries of railway and defence sectors are the best options Such units should be established by the central government as it will undoubtedly generate huge employment opportunities for the youth besides giving a fillip to the UTs economy Gupta told the minister The Union minister reached Jammu on Monday as part of the central governments public outreach programme and held a series of meetings with government officials besides interacting with BJP leaders and various delegations On September 22 the JCCI sponsored a strike in the Jammu region against alleged directionless policies of the government detrimental to the interests of the business community Among other things the chamber expressed its resentment against the decision of the lieutenant governor administration to stop the Darbar move under which the government used to rotate its seat between the twin capitals for six months each The Gupta-led delegation sought refund of SGST to industrial units of UT of JK and also demanded the benefits of the recently announced New Industrial Policy to the existing industrial units of the Jammu region the JCCI said in a statement here Expressing resentment over the opening of retail stores by big companies in Jammu the JCCI said if this happens then the small shopkeepers of Jammu will be ruined and their shops will be closed The delegation also pitched for tapping of the huge tourism potential in Jammu province the statement said The JCCI said the delegation also discussed various other issues including stopping of darbar move clarity on land and labour policy completion of pending projects delay in payment to contractors issues of wine traders sand mining and crushers and brick kiln trade PTI TAS AB HRS hrs

Jammu Sept 18 PTI Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for a day-long peaceful strike on September 22 to protest the alleged discrimination of highest degree by the government with them Announcing the strike JCCI president Arun Gupta said the token strike against directionless policies of the government should serve as a wakeup call for it and it should take immediate corrective measures to end the discrimination with Jammu region We believe that trade in the Jammu region is being disturbed deliberately as policy decisions are taken in closed rooms without consulting or taking into confidence the stakeholders Gupta flanked by leaders of various trade unions told reporters here The directionless policies have hit the business fraternity especially in the Jammu region he added He said the chamber has raised the issues concerning Jammu traders with the concerned officials from time to time but the government remained unmoved Referring to the new excise policy which left several hundred vendors jobless he said almost after a gap of two months when the government has e-auctioned wine shops the liquor bars across the Union Territory have been closed as the excise department has sought renewal of licenses and No Objection Certificates from over 20 government departments for the smooth running of the business Nearly 250 liquor bars are running in JK and thousands of people are engaged in this business The government move has badly affected their livelihood he said On scrapping the traditional darbar move from this year Gupta said the governments unilateral decision to end the past practice of shifting offices between the twin capitals bi-annually would adversely impact not only the traditional bond between the two regions and their people but also the business community Thousands of families from Kashmir and Jammu used to move along with Darbar to spend winter and summers in Jammu and Kashmir It has severely affected the traders of Jammu as well as Kashmir regions he said Gupta also questioned continued capping of the number of guests at banquet halls at 25 saying the government decision has hit the business very hard We request the government to fix the capping criteria of banquet halls as per their size and capacity and allow them to function with 50 per cent capacity he said The chamber president also expressed resentment over the Reliance-like big companies proposal to open retail stores in Jammu If this happens the small shopkeepers of Jammu will be ruined and their shops will be closed Despite adding business opportunities the directionless government has snatched away what was in the hands of traders and it is unacceptable he said adding the traders have already borne the brunt of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns Terming as alarming the Geology and Mining Department policy on the allotment of mining and extraction contracts he said the lack of protective mechanisms has deprived thousands of families of their livelihood and exposed consumers to exploitation by a mining syndicate Over 60 per cent of mining contracts have gone to the outsiders From contractors to sand diggers labourers to transporters who are directly or indirectly associated with the extraction of minerals all have lost their livelihood he said Referring to the outreach programme started by the Centre under which Union ministers visit different parts of the Union Territory to review the developmental scenario Gupta said it seems to be solely meant for Kashmir as practically Jammu is not on their itinerary Those who visited Jammu they only preferred to meet the leaders belonging to a particular party ignoring the stakeholders of Jammu region he alleged He said it appears that the government was acting totally against the interest of the Jammu people and is appeasing the people of the other region despite Jammu being a nationalist region and a staunch supporter of the government PTI TAS RAX RAX