Airport parking policy hurting businesses, causing inconvenience to people: KCCI

Srinagar, Aug 17: The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) on Saturday said it strongly opposes what it called the arbitrary change of airport parking policy implemented at the Srinagar International Airport.

The economic body said that the policy is putting an extra burden on tourists, travellers, local people even as it is causing a major inconvenience to the people in tourism and travelling industry.

KCCI said that it had raised this issue with the Airport authority in a meeting had earlier this month.

This undesirable new parking system, the KCCI said needs attention from the authorities. And that they had informed the authority about the harassment caused by this system to people from all kinds of walks.

It said that in another meeting also held earlier this month, the issue was put before the Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, who they said had at that time assured his support in resolving the issue.

Greater Kashmir also received reports from people who were charged even when they had arrived and left the airport within the given time, during which there are no charges as per the receipts handed over to them by the parking men.

"I was there to pick my brother, we left in less than 3-minutes but were still charged," said Afnan, a resident of Bemina.

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, Afnan said they were charged Rs 40. This is injustice, he said.

About the resolution of this matter, the KCCI said that they were assured that the matter would be solved after 15-August, however, there has been no respite to the people till now.

The KCCI said that it is receiving numerous complaints from commercial operators as well as private travellers against the unjustified and arbitrary charges being forcibly recovered.

The KCCI said that it demands and reiterates that the newly installed toll post be removed at once.

It said that in addition of these unjustified charges, the new toll post cause huge jams at an already jam-packed area, where people arrive hours before their flights and are still in rush.

It said that this new implementation is a discouraging factor for the 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 system nowhere else exists. 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," read a statement by the economic body.

The KCCI believes that “One Nation One Policy” applies to the whole of India but why a different undesirable parking policy has been adopted in Kashmir, it asked.

It said that it is not only discriminatory but undesirable as well.

The KCCI demands that the newly introduced policy be forthwith withdrawn and the policy that existed previously restored at the earliest otherwise it will be termed as a “KASHMIR ENTRY CESS,” read a statement by the KCCI.