Fruit mandis shut across Kashmir against authorities
Mirwaiz expresses solidarity with growers
Srinagar: Fruit mandis across Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir observed a complete shutdown on Monday in protest against the authorities’ failure to ensure the smooth movement of fruit-laden trucks on the Srinagar–Jammu highway.
According to Kashmir Media Service, emotional scenes were witnessed at Asia’s second-largest Fruit Mandi in Sopore, where orchardists broke down, lamenting that their year’s hard work was rotting in stranded trucks while the administration “watched silently.”
Addressing the gathering, President of the Fruit Growers Association, Fayaz Ahmed Malik, accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of betraying the people. “If the Chief Minister can’t ensure the passage of fruit trucks, he has no right to remain in office. Resign if you can’t do anything,” he said, adding that no MLA had spoken up for the growers.
The growers alleged that while trucks carrying iron and other commodities were being allowed to move, fruit-laden vehicles were deliberately held back. Malik warned that if the highway is not restored within 48 hours, growers will announce a valley-wide strike that could paralyze economic activity across the territory.
It is worth mentioning that mandis across the Valley—including Sopore, Handwara, Shopian, Kulgam, and Islamabad—remained shut as part of the two-day protest on September 14 and 15. Hundreds of trucks carrying perishable fruit consignments remain stranded, resulting in “massive damages and heavy losses” for growers.
Meanwhile, senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq expressed deep pain over the plight of the protesting fruit growers and orchardists, terming them the backbone of Kashmir’s economy. “As fruit-laden trucks rot for days on the highway with no right to passage, the government’s apathy is shameful. Their year’s hard work is being pushed to ruin,” he said. Mirwaiz urged the authorities to immediately ensure unhindered passage of trucks on priority to prevent further losses and mental agony to the community.
