Many fruit growers and traders from south Kashmir's Shopian district, who had applied for the allotment of shops at Fruit Mandi Shopian 'feel cheated' by the Planning and Marketing wing of the Horticulture Department. At least 193 fruit growers-traders from the district had applied for the allotment of shops in 2004, however, after a hiatus of 18 years, they are still without the shops.
One grower and a member of Fruit Mandi Shopian said that they felt cheated by the authorities: "The department kept us waiting for nearly two decades and finally returned the bank drafts a few days ago."
Mushtaq Ahamd Malik, president Fruit Growers and Zamindar Association said that they were clueless about the cancellation of the proposed allotment of shops. The concerned officials from the Planning and Marketing department could not be reached for their comments despite repeated phone calls by this reporter.
Source: greaterkashmir.com