Mohammad Raafi
SRINAGAR
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Friday met a group of entrepreneurs and held a two-hour long interaction with them.
Besides, Mehbooba Mufti, Tasadduq Mufti, Naeem Akhtar and Shah Faesal were present in the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion Mehbooba called it an apolitical event and said that it was her father’s desire to take the budding entrepreneurs along. “Since Mufti Sahab is no more, I decided to hold a meeting with you people,” she told the participants.
Besides reviewing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs, the problems of funding and infrastructure were also discussed.
Nearly fifty entrepreneurs participated in the meeting that lasted for two hours, which was also addressed by Tasadduq Mufti. “He was taking notes and making suggestions to certain points to some entrepreneurs,” said Mehnaz who was part of the meeting. It was a mix of different entrepreneurs, some had already made investments, some had completed their studies and joined business and created excellent success stories.
Ubaid Mehraj, another entrepreneur, who was also present in the meeting, said that the process could prove fruitful only if it is continued in future also. “So far so good. But the process needs to continue to make it fruitful,” he added. Some participants said the event was their first introduction to Muftis’, Mehbooba as well as her cinematographer brother Tasadduq.
Pertinently this was Tasadduq Mufti’s second meeting since yesterday.
“It was a meeting of youngsters who own start-ups and they keenly shared their experiences with Mehbooba Mufti,” one top entrepreneur who was in the audience said. “It was a good interaction in which even I felt educated about the problems that the youngsters face at the ground level.”
Tasadduq Mufti, interestingly, was very interested in some of the initiatives that linked to ecology of the place.
Party sources told Kashmir Life that they had compiled a list of about 100 entrepreneurs who had become success in their endeavors across different sectors in business and industry. “The idea was to appreciate their efforts but somehow it did not take place earlier,” one of the organizers of the event said. “We had identified these success stories from the media that has been reporting all these months.” The organizer said Mufti, however, had visited some of the top industrial units in November to put on record his appreciation for their efforts in making things happen at a place which apparently is not industry-friendly.
“This was something on the mind of Mufti Sahab even in the hospital,” one party leader said. “Had not fate taken a different turn, this meeting might have been presided by the Mufti Sahab.” The urgency in holding this meeting, he said, was simply because Mufti Sahab had desired to have it and was on his mind when he was in hospital.
“It has nothing to do with politics and is a sincere attempt,” the organizer said. “Our party is keen that the Kashmiri youth should see options beyond government jobs and excel.”
