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People of the area have expressed dissatisfaction with the budget for Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) that has neglected local demands in the allocations, Skardu TV, a local news source from PoGB, reported.
A small shop owner from the main market of Skardu city in PoGB mentioned that he was dissatisfied with what the administration had to offer, as the electricity cuts were continuing, the fuel prices were still rising and the inflation remained rampant. Further, the owner questioned how a common citizen will live in these conditions when the price of all essentials continues to remain out of the reach of the general public. He mentioned, "They may claim that the budget will solve the issues of the people but if we look at the budget carefully, then there is no relief for the common people in the budget." A local daily wage worker in the Skardu TV report stated, " I am not at all happy as the demand we had raised to increase the minimum wages was not stressed upon in the recent budget. I earn merely Pakistani currency (PKR) 1500 per day and I have to manage all expenses for my family within that as I am the only earning member. And I am not able to earn a single penny when the contractor does not have a job. The budget seems to be beneficial for only the elites and government servants, common people like us have been totally ignored. Additionally, there is no standard cost for anything issued by the government, so on one hand, we suffer the wrath of inflation and we suffer these major shifts in the prices of basic necessities". Another Skardu city resident stated, "There is no relief in the budget of this tenure. Our issues have once again been straightaway rejected. Repeatedly, we have raised demands for cheaper essentials, and other issues but none of them have been addressed in this budget. Hence, we, the common people, still remain the ignored party in the administration's budget of 2024-25." Moreover, a gemstones dealer from PoGB stated, "The government of PoGB has increased an 8 per cent tax on my business of gemstones. What should and why should I pay the government for? And how will I pay this additional tax when the government is ceasing all my raw material suppliers by ceasing mines of PoGB? Now on one side, they are stopping me from doing my business and on the other side, they are asking me to add 8 per cent to my taxes, Now how will I pay?" (ANI)
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