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Early this summer season, Mr. Rather inspected orchards of Pulwama for days collectively to determine one of the best number of apples for buying and selling. “I’m not an fruit grower however a fruit dealer. I promised to pay ₹300 per field and hoped to get round ₹600 exterior J&Ok. I’ve nothing however rotten apples now. I’m digging a ditch to bury them,” Mr. Rather mentioned. He is the only breadwinner of his household.
Distressing scenes of fruit merchants dumping rotten apples emerged from components of the Valley on Tuesday (September 16, 2025). In the fruit markets of Kulgam in south Kashmir and Sopore in north Kashmir, fruit growers and merchants have been seen unloading rotten apples from vans.
“We nurture apple timber with blood and sweat. We preserve an in depth eye on infections and do a number of rounds of spraying to make sure the apple manufacturing is of high quality. It was our time to earn cash for the efforts we put in all 12 months. It has all gone to waste,” Shahid Dar, an apple grower from Kulgam, mentioned.
As a whole lot of vans, stranded for the previous two weeks, are being turned again from the 290-km Srinagar-Jammu freeway to dump stinking produce in open orchards and fields, the losses may cross a number of hundred crores. The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, has already arrange a committee to estimate the losses as a result of closure of the freeway, which was broken throughout heavy rain final month.
“It’s for the primary time that our apple produce was caught and left to rot on roads. We have seen totally different phases in Kashmir, together with a number of months of road agitation in 2016, nevertheless it by no means impacted the export of apples prefer it did this time. Also, most apple farmers don’t have crop insurance coverage. The impression of the losses could have a ripple impact on Kashmir’s financial system,” Mr. Dar mentioned.
J&Ok produces round 70% of the nation’s apples and stays a significant exporter. Around 35 lakh households are related to the commerce within the Valley.
“The Government of India ought to take pressing steps to facilitate the apple vans to achieve the market. The suggestions of the Dr. Swaminathan Commission on agriculture stays largely unimplemented. J&Ok, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have been hit arduous, but apple has not been introduced beneath the suggestions for the Minimum Support Price (MSP),” CPI(M) chief and MLA of Kulgam, M. Y. Tarigami mentioned.
He mentioned the apple sector just isn’t lined by the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) launched in 2016. “There is an pressing must reintroduce the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) in order that overripe apples could be procured and used for juice and jam manufacturing. If the Government of India doesn’t help this, the Union Territory administration should carry the scheme beneath the CAPEX Budget to compensate growers,” Mr. Tarigami mentioned.
J&Ok’s apple manufacturing stood at 20.40 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.
Officials mentioned a 300-metre patch in Udhampur was proving to be a significant problem for the authorities. The space has witnessed landslips and land subsidence previously three weeks.
J&Ok Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is going through criticism from his personal get together leaders for failure to deal with the state of affairs. “The silence of elected representatives won’t be forgotten by the individuals. The lifeline of Kashmir’s financial system was being intentionally squeezed. Every 12 months, throughout harvest season, fruit vans are stopped till the produce rots. Today once more, regardless of official claims that the freeway is open, our vans are stranded. This is nothing wanting an assault on our growers,” National Conference chief and Member of Parliament Syed Aga Ruhullah mentioned.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Iltija Mufti met J&Ok Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha and raised the difficulty of “extended closure of the important highway hyperlink has left a whole lot of truckloads of apple produce stranded”. “The apple business is the spine of Kashmir’s financial system, however poor planning and administrative apathy are pushing growers into disaster 12 months after 12 months,” Ms. Mufti mentioned.
Meanwhile, CM Abdullah attended a high-level digital assembly chaired by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to overview the standing of the freeway.
J&Ok Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Chairs a gathering on bettering community protection and lengthening telecom providers within the area. | Photo Credit: X/@CM_JnK through ANI
“Blacktopping can wait. But massive autos, particularly 4-axle and 5-axle vans, can’t be diverted by way of Mughal Road. This is the one route out there for them, and with an enormous variety of vans stranded on the Kashmir aspect alone, clearing this backlog is essential,” the Chief Minister mentioned on the assembly.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari assured the Chief Minister that his issues could be addressed, a authorities spokesman mentioned. “On my initiative, Mr. Gadkari convened a gathering, which centered on instant steps to totally restore NH-44 for the pressing motion of fruit-laden vans and uninterrupted provide of necessities. I additionally reiterated my authorities’s resolve to minimise hardships to commuters and farmers,” Mr. Abdullah mentioned.
