We won't leave an inch of our land: Traders

We won't leave an inch of our land: Traders
BILAL HUSSAIN
Srinagar : Chairman, Kashmir Traders Federation, Jan Muhammad Koul today said the government order to transfer the land to SASB was actually a plan by New Delhi which wanted to take away land from "us on the pattern of Israel." "We won't leave an inch of our land," he said. The government should take immediate steps to revoke the order before it is too late, he added. To mention the KCCI and FCIK had earlier demanded that state tourism department should be entrusted with the job of managing yatra as was being done by them in the past with prerogative to decide upon the intake of yatris based upon the capacity of facilities created by them. For the past three days the Valley is protesting the land transfer to the SASB. This has caused immense losses to the merchandise business in general and tourism trade in particular. The traders hold the former governor S K Sinha and state government responsible for creating the controversy by transferring land to the SASB. The transfer order has evoked widespread and intense protests in the Valley. "The stiff resistance by the masses and unmatched protests show the wider disconnect between the state and the people," said a trader. The yatra, once an example of unity between Muslims and Hindus has been turned into a communal discord, he added.