Srinagar, Jan 6 (KNS): Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has impressed upon the government to initiate an immediate process of assessing the losses caused to industrial, horticulture and other economic sectors due to heavy snowfall for affording these compensation under the provisions of Disaster Management Act of 2005.

In a statement issued to KNS, the FCIK President Shahid Kamili while expressing his regret and sorrow over the large scale devastation caused to these sectors hoped that the heavy snowfall would be declared as "natural disaster" by the government and losses caused are compensated from NDRF/SDRF funding.
He said that the government needed to realise that the snowfall has caused havoc to the horticulture sector as most of the fruit trees have been damaged even uprooted under the weight of heavy snow besides that industrial sheds and industrial equipments across the valley have also been damaged.

President FCIK informed that the unprecedented snowfall had abruptly halted the production of industrial units due to inaccessibility, power interruptions and other difficulties.

"Since the losses caused are beyond the bearing capacity of entrepreneurs to coup up, the government needs to come in for help under relevant provisions", he said in a statement to KNS.

While hailing the efforts of power development department to be the first at work, the President FCIK hoped that power supply to all industrial estates was restored immediately.

He, however, regretted that the work on snow clearance from roads leading to and within the estates was going on snail's pace which makes it difficult for the entrepreneurs and their workers to reach to their units. He informed that the corporations responsible for the management of industrial estates were yet to initiate clearance of the snow from internal roads of industrial estates and it appears that these corporations lacked preparedness to deal with the harsh weather challenges. (KNS).