Kashmir Digits

A shopping mall owned by a cabinet minister in the Jammu and Kashmir government was Wednesday sealed by the municipal corporation in the region’s summer capital Srinagar.

An official from the Srinagar Municipal Corporation told Kashmir Dispatch that the shopping complex of the head of People’s Conference and minister for animal husbandry, Sajjad Lone, was sealed in uptown Sanathnagar this afternoon.

The shopping complex, in the vicinity of Lone’s residence, has his sons, Emad Lone and Adnan Lone as owners.

The officer said that the civic body acted after a high court order asking for sealing of complexes that lacked the underground parking. “We sealed 15 shopping malls today,” he said.

The court last week directed sealing of all those shopping malls and complexes in Srinagar city that lack basement parking. The shoppers park the cars on the roads near these shopping complexes leading to choking of the roads and traffic jams.

The court has exempted from sealing the shopping complex of former minister and senior congress leader, Taj-Mohi-ud-Din that is located on Residency Road.

The civic body has also sealed the Congress-linked Khidmat Trust building on Residency Road as it lacks under ground parking and failed to respond to the notice issued by the corporation.

The division bench of the court had directed the corporation to initiate action against these shopping mall owners which includes demolition of these buildings.

Around 47 shopping malls had not maintained car parking facility in Srinagar city as was necessary as per the building permission granted to them by the corporation.