RAWALPINDI: Traders Action Committee on Saturday set up a hunger-strike camp at Committee Chowk to protest against the delay in the completion of work on the metro bus project which has severely affected their business.

Traders Action Committee President Fahim Siddiqui told Dawn that the hunger strike camp was established to protest the losses traders have suffered because of the project. He demanded that the government waive off property tax for the traders for the next five years.

“All political parties except the ruling PML-N support the traders in this demand. We met all the local politicians including AML President Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and they agreed to support the traders in their demands,” he said.

Earlier, Commissioner Zahid Saeed had invited the traders to convince them not to set up the hunger strike camp but they refused and continued with their protest.

The commissioner told Dawn that the traders were also demanding for their income tax to be waived off. During the meeting he informed traders about the progress of work on the metro bus project and assured them that work would be completed as soon as possible.

He said that the RDA opened Jinnah Avenue and it would open Murree Road section from Faizabad to Double Road on Sunday morning (today) as the carpeting of this section of the road has been completed.

He said the traders are demanding for their income tax to be waived off, which is irrational as the traders would only pay tax on the income generated in the current year.

“Their demand is now from the federal government as the provincial government has already waived off property tax worth Rs106 million of the affected traders and land owners whose property was affected due to the project,” the commissioner said.

He said that traders from Moti Bazaar were also demanding the government to waive off the tax for the next three years which is not possible. He said Murree Road traders were affected by the project but other traders were also demanding benefits from the government.

On the other hand, Traders Action Committee President Fahim Siddiqui admitted that the commissioner briefed them about the work on the project but he was helpless in solving the issues of the traders.

He said that the traders lost business in the last one year as all the roads were closed for construction. He said the traders were simply demanding some benefits to make up for the losses.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2015

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