SRINAGAR: Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC&I) on Thursday denounced what it called irresponsible reporting by a ‘national newspaper’ allegedly to vitiate the atmosphere in Kashmir.

The trade body issued a statement after a meeting here today saying such reports can have a negative impact on all walks of life here.

The meeting chaired by Kashmir Inc President Javed Ahmad Tenga, according to the statement discussed the situation arising out of the ‘fake reporting’ regarding stone pelting incidents on the tourist vehicles that appeared in a national daily on 1st of April 2018 and its effect on all walks of life was discussed in detail.

“It was appreciated that while the sources quoted to the news-feed in today’s edition of the paper have denied the correspondents claim as concocted, the government agencies including the Police and the Divisional administration have already refuted the news report vehemently as false and vicious in content”.

However, the participants in the meeting expressed their apprehensions about the cascading effect that the “irresponsible, unconfirmed and patently wrong reporting by a correspondent of a leading national newspaper could have on the social life and peace here and elsewhere in the country”, the statement reads.

The meeting, according to the statement, unanimously agreed that Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry will rise to take measures which would make the government to take immediate action against the irresponsible news reporters in letter and the spirit so that news correspondents are prevented from making such wrong reporting in future.

KCC&I said it would appeal the State Government to “take immediate penal action against the particular correspondent who has recently vitiated the atmosphere with wrong reporting and astonishingly is still engaged with the tirade not conducive to otherwise peaceful atmosphere of the valley”.

Guest