SMC’s Marriage Hall Fee Hike Triggers Public Outrage In Srinagar

Srinagar, 22 Mar, 2025: As the wedding season approaches in Kashmir, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) recent decision to hike marriage and community hall booking charges from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 per day has triggered widespread outrage. The sudden and steep increase has placed an unbearable financial burden on lower and middle-class families already struggling due to economic distress, rising unemployment, and inflation.

Over the past few years, Kashmir’s economy has suffered multiple setbacks due to political uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic and low business activity. Business owners, daily wage workers, shopkeepers, transporters, artisans, weavers, auto drivers, construction laborers, farmers and small-scale traders are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Many small