Srinagar: Local entrepreneurs manning commercial spots at the Srinagar airport staged a protest at Press Enclave here on Monday to draw public attention to the “injustice” meted out to them by the Airport Authority of India.
The protest comes as AAI moves to dislodge all local shoppers from the airport to hand over the spots to a non local businessman. The entrepreneurs said that they were tenants of commercial spots acquired through tenders at Srinagar airport for many years.
The shoppers have been served notices to vacate the shops within three to six months; including those whose contract is valid upto 2019. The airport authority is handing over entire spots to a “master concessionaire”.
“They have asked some to evict shops by three months, and some by six months as per validity of the lease,” one of the shopkeeper, said. “They have even put caveats in the high court so that nobody brings a stay against the arbitrary decision to shunt us out.”
“The qualification for tendering as a Concessionaire was fixed in such a way that hardly any local entrepreneur could qualify. The conditions for qualifying as a Concessionaire were made deliberately difficult, so that no local entrepreneur could be able to participate in the absence of minimum annual turnover of Rs 6 Crore and 50 lacs, and tie up with two international and one national brand,” the protesters said.
06/02/18 Arif Rashid/Kashmir Reader
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The protest comes as AAI moves to dislodge all local shoppers from the airport to hand over the spots to a non local businessman. The entrepreneurs said that they were tenants of commercial spots acquired through tenders at Srinagar airport for many years.
The shoppers have been served notices to vacate the shops within three to six months; including those whose contract is valid upto 2019. The airport authority is handing over entire spots to a “master concessionaire”.
“They have asked some to evict shops by three months, and some by six months as per validity of the lease,” one of the shopkeeper, said. “They have even put caveats in the high court so that nobody brings a stay against the arbitrary decision to shunt us out.”
“The qualification for tendering as a Concessionaire was fixed in such a way that hardly any local entrepreneur could qualify. The conditions for qualifying as a Concessionaire were made deliberately difficult, so that no local entrepreneur could be able to participate in the absence of minimum annual turnover of Rs 6 Crore and 50 lacs, and tie up with two international and one national brand,” the protesters said.
06/02/18 Arif Rashid/Kashmir Reader
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