| News Details |
| CTTIK seeks Immediate Government Support For Tourism Industry | |
Kara,September 13 (Scoop News)-The Chamber of Tourism Trade and Industry Katra (CTTIK) today convened a meeting of its office bearers to review the business situation arising out of the current scenario of non-functional business units. The meeting was attended by president Raj Kumar Padha, senior vice president Babu Ram Sharma, vice president Susheel Dubey, treasurer Ramnik Sharma, secretaries Atul Sharma and Karan Vaid, executive members Rattan Sharma, Neelam Singh and Vishal Kapoor , media head Arun Sharma and mentor Shiv Kumar Sharma.
On behalf of the tourism stakeholders, CTTIK extended a sincere appeal to the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha and Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Omar Abdullah to urgently consider announcing a comprehensive relief package in view of the unfortunate events since the Pahalgam terrorist attack on 22nd April 2025, which have gravely impacted the tourism sector across Jammu & Kashmir.
Tourism, the backbone of J&K’s economy, provides direct and indirect employment to thousands while supporting a wide range of businesses from hospitality and transport to trade and local crafts. However, the sector remains uniquely vulnerable, being the first to bear the brunt of unrest and the last to recover. The tragic Pahalgam terrorist attack and the subsequent Sindoor operation cast a deep shadow over the region during the peak tourist season of April–May, leading to a near-total collapse of activity—hotels remained empty, transporters stood idle, traders were in despair, and allied services such as guides, dhabas, shopkeepers and artisans were pushed to the brink of survival.
The crisis was further compounded by the devastating cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides in August that claimed nearly 200 lives, including Machail Mata pilgrims and Vaishno Devi devotees, while causing large-scale destruction of private and public infrastructure. These calamities dealt another severe blow to the already fragile tourism sector, resulting in massive economic losses between April and August this year, extremely low business activity, and disruption of supply chains.
In this unprecedented situation, President Raj Kumar Padha has appealed for urgent government intervention through a relief package including deferment of EMIs on term loans and working capital for a minimum of six months, interest subvention on existing loans and working capital facilities, postponement of payments towards GST, electricity bills, water charges and other state taxes for six months, introduction of a commercial electricity amnesty scheme, and most importantly, extension of soft loans on the lines of GECLS (Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line Scheme) introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to help stressed businesses overcome the present crisis.
Such measures, CTTIK stressed, would provide the much-needed breathing space to struggling enterprises and prevent a wave of bankruptcies and unemployment. At a time when business morale is fragile and economic activity has nearly stalled, timely intervention by the government can rekindle hope and ensure long-term resilience of the tourism-dependent economy.
CTTIK reaffirmed its commitment to work hand-in-hand with the administration in rebuilding the tourism sector and restoring livelihoods, expressing confidence that under the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Government, urgent and compassionate action will be taken to provide the much-needed handholding support to the sector.
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