The BJP leaders and hoteliers and businessmen of Katra township have expressed their profound happiness over the inclusion of Katra township under the Atam Nirbhar Bharat package announced by Prime Minister of India recently on the intervention of Union Minister in PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh who is also the MP of Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Lok Sabha constituency. Talking to reporters here, the former BJP MLA from Reasi Assembly segment, Baldev Raj Sharma, vice chairman Municipal Committee, Katra Ajay Baru, chairman BDC Panthel, Chander Mohan Singh, chairman Block Katra, Sham Lal and senior BJP leader, Kuldeep Raj Gupta complimented Dr Jitendra Singh on behalf of hoteliers of Katra for inclusion of Katra township in Atam Nirbhar Bharat Scheme. They said that earlier hoteliers of Katra were not brought under the purview of the 20 lakh crore package announced by PM Modi but on behalf of hoteliers and other people of Katra Baldev Raj Sharma sent a memorandum to Dr Jitendra Singh requesting him for special package to hotel industry of Katra under the Atam Nirbhar Bharat package as the hotel industry in Katra township also suffered immense loss due to three month long lockdown announced in view of the spread of COVID-19 in the country on March 24. They said that Dr Jitendra Singh took personal interest in the matter and it was with his intervention only that the Hotel Industry of Katra was also brought under the purview of Atam Nirbhar Bharat package. “We compliment Union Minister on behalf of the Hotel Industry and other Business establishments of the holy town of Katra who has always taken keen interest in the welfare of the people of his constituency as well as its development”, they said. Earlier Baldev Raj Sharma in his memorandum to Dr Jitendra Singh had highlighted the plight of the business community and hoteliers of Katra township. It said that the economic activity in the town of Katra is totally dependent on the pilgrim tourists traffic to the holy shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji. The memorandum said the Union Government has announced various schemes to give impetus to hotel industry and tourism trade in the country.To cater to the increased tourist traffic a number of small and medium hotels have been set up by local entrepreneurs which are providing employment to thousands of unemployed youth from the adjoining areas of Udhampur, Reasi, Doda etc, it added. In the backdrop of the foregoing Baldev Sharma sought personal intervention of the Minister urging him to issue directions to the banks operating in the state of J&K in general and Katra in particular to provide the additional Credit line of 20% declared by the Government of India under the AtamNirbhar Bharat COVID 19 package to all the borrowers who are not NPA as on February 2020 instead of selected few borrowers who are not SMA2 as is being done by the banks at present.
