Srinagar, Aug 06 (KNO): Emotional scenes unfolded in Srinagar on Wednesday after the employees of Nedou’s Hotel broke down in tears during a protest, days after the government sealed the historic property in Gulmarg.
Some of the staff, who had served the hotel for decades, said they were neither informed nor prepared for the sudden action.
“We served this hotel like our family. We feel abandoned and betrayed,” a staff member told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The 137-year-old hotel was sealed by the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) on August 01, following eviction orders under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1988.
Authorities had earlier stated that the hotel had been under ‘unauthorised occupation’ since its lease expired in 1985 and was never renewed.
Both the Supreme Court and the Jammu & Kashmir High Court upheld the government’s decision, directing the eviction. The hotel, spread across over 98 kanals of prime government land in Gulmarg, had its lease formally rejected in 2015.
While the government maintains that the eviction is a legal matter based on the expired lease, the emotional toll on the long-serving staff has drawn public sympathy.
“We only want our jobs and future to be protected. This hotel was everything for us,” another protester said, pleading for a fair solution—(KNO)