Srinagar-Jammu highway closure causes Rs700 crore loss to Valley growers
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the prolonged closure of the Srinagar–Jammu highway has plunged Kashmir’s horticulture sector into crisis, with the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union (KVFGDU) estimating losses of nearly Rs 700 crore this season.
According to Kashmir Media Service, fruit-growers, traders and truckers say the shutdown has left thousands of fruit-laden trucks stranded, forced farmers to dump rotten produce, and pushed freight charges to unsustainable levels.
“Earlier, we used to pay Rs 50 to Rs 60 per apple box when transporting via highway. Now, on the Mughal Road, we are charged around Rs 200 per box. This is simply unbearable,” said Abdul Majid, a fruit-grower from Shopian. “The margins in apple farming are already very low. With freight charges tripling, we are running into losses that we may never recover.”
Bashir Ahmad, another grower from Pulwama, said the crisis has disrupted grading and marketing strategies. “The money we are receiving in outside markets is not even covering the freight charges. Most people have delayed picking up first-grade apples because we cannot afford to take the risk of them rotting in transit,” he said.
At Srinagar’s Parimpora fruit mandi, heaps of rotten apples lie scattered, with growers forced to pay labourers to dump their own produce. “We hired trucks and loaded our apples with a hope. But after being stuck for days on the highway, the fruit came back rotten. Now we spend more money to throw it away,” said Ghulam Nabi, a farmer. “This is the first time I have seen growers paying for the destruction of their own produce,” added Mohammad Yousuf, a Sopore-based trader.
Truckers stranded for nearly two weeks on the highway also voiced anger and despair. “This is unbearable. These 13 days feel like 13 years.
Farmers warned that the continuing blockade could cripple Kashmir’s apple industry, considered the backbone of the Valley’s economy, which is already grappling with the effects of climate change, untimely rains, and rising input costs. “Apple is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy. If the government fails to safeguard it, the economic repercussions will be disastrous not only for growers but for the entire Valley,” Basheer said.
