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Srinagar shopkeepers aghast over rent hike Criticise Waqf Board 11/20/2015 12:08:49 AM Majid Nabi Early Times Report Srinagar, Nov 19: Accusing the Muslim Waqf Board (MWB), custodian of all major Muslim shrines and other properties of acting as a 'vampire', the flood affected shopkeepers of Srinagar Thursday claimed that Waqf authorities have hiked monthly rental of shops by 25 percent without informing tenants. The aggrieved shopkeeper's lambasted Waqf for what they termed 'subjective' decision of 25 percent monthly hike in Waqf owned shops. Demanding immediate rollback of arbitrary hike in monthly rental, shopkeepers threatened valley wide agitation in case the Waqf Board failed to revoke the same. The shopkeepers holding Trust properties on rent all over Srinagar city criticized the Auqaf head for making manifold hike in their rental fee saying, "We fail to understand as to how the Auqaf has hiked the rentals with such a huge margin." "They have been sucking our blood since years altogether we are paying rents as per the prescribed norms of Waqf, however some corrupt officials aimed at siphoning-off the money have proposed to increase the monthly rental by more than twenty five percent," Arshid Hussain a shopkeeper at Jamia Masjid told 'Early Times'. They said while from past more than 30 years they would pay 200 to 500 rupees rent per month for a shop, now the Auqaf has asked them to pay 35 rupees per square feet per month for the same shop, thereby forcing them to pay the rent by more than 25 percent. "Our business was badly affected by past year's floods, we are yet to overcome the losses we suffered and now the sudden hike in rentals has added to our woes," said Shafaat Ahmad a shopkeeper in Dargah Hazratbal. The protesters said that Auqaf had in recent past hiked the rental by fifteen percent which was accordingly paid by the tenants although the sudden hike that too more than double has broken their back. "How far is this genuine to increase rentals on regular basis, How can we manage such a huge amount monthly, while the business slumped after last year floods and is presently at all time low, I think we will be forced to put our household items on sale in case we fail to pay rent," he said. The shopkeepers did not rule out hitting streets saying, "If the decision is not rolled back we will have no other option but to come on roads against the self centered decisions of so called custodians," Mohammad Amin another shopkeeper said.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

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