SRINAGAR: Hotel and Restaurant owners in Kashmir have called off a strike on Tuesday, the second day of a lock-down to protest a drive against improper sewage treatment, after talks with the government.
The Coordination Committee of Hotel Associations, which has around 1000 members, had asked hotels to turn away new guests, make the inmates check-out; the restaurants were asked not to sell food.
All complied.
This was to protest the State Pollution Control Board’s order to hotels and restaurants to install individual Sewage Treatment Plants.
The installations is mandatory for the hotels with rooms numbering 20 or above, while as those with seven to 19 rooms need to take consent and install safety tanks for pollution control.
After orders from the High Court, the SPCB also sealed some hotels in tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Around 188 hotels in the Srinagar city have been issued the notices for their closure.
The Committee demands that the STPS be installed by the government, and that too for a cluster of hotels.
“The Government is obliged to install common STPs under Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission scheme. They are supposed to cover entire commercial and domestic sectors for the safeguard of environment,” Faiz Bakshi, Committee Chairman said.
But in a statement issued later today, the committee called off the strike for Tuesday saying the authorities were considering their demands.
“…Committee held discussion with a confidant emissary of Chief Minister and the Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir who have assured that our proposal for setting up common STP’S and sealing is under serious consideration…and a workable solution will be worked out soon,” the statement said.
“The shutdown is suspended and members are advised to resume their business activities from 29th of October.”
