Kashmir residents get no reason to smile

People in the Valley have expressed disappointment over the Union Budget, saying it has no political or economic relief for the people of the state.
Locals said they had high political and economic expectations from the Budget but there was no mention of any new project in the state, which has been suffering economically for the past two decades.
“For Kashmir, which is without a government at present, the Budget carried political expectations. It could have made the way easy for the PDP and the BJP. There is nothing for the state. We have been left high and dry,” said Insha Bhat, a student.
The Budget has also dashed the economic expectations of the people as they were hoping for a special economic package.
“We were expecting that there would relief in the form of special economic packages to upgrade the infrastructure in Kashmir, but there is only disappointment,” said Asiya Raheem, a local.
Many people said the Central government had so far failed to take economic initiatives in Kashmir.
“We had no hopes from the Budget as we knew what was coming. There is nothing for the middle class in the Budget. There is nothing much even for the youth,” said Aquib Javaid, an employee of a private company.
“I am not impressed. In the past, there used to be a specific mention of Kashmir to boost tourism, handicraft or other business sectors of Kashmir. However, this time, we did not hear any direct reference of concessions in the Budget that would boost our economy,” said Abdul Rauf, a shopkeeper.