Halting of apple trucks on national highway draws Kashmiri apple growers’ ire

Harvesting of apples usually begins in August and September. This year, growers in the Kashmir Valley say they have reaped a good harvest, but authorities stopping fruit laden trucks on the highways is causing them losses.

With trucks laden with perishable fruits being made to wait for days on the national highway during peak harvest season, growers in Kashmir say they are incurring heavy losses.

With trucks laden with perishable fruits being made to wait for days on the national highway during peak harvest season, growers in Kashmir say they are incurring heavy losses. (HT File)

The growers says around 200-300 fruit-laden trucks are dispatched to different destinations across the country each day, but only a handful are allowed to pass. “After three four days, all these trucks, perhaps around 700 of them, are allowed to pass causing a glut in the mandi when they all arrive at the same time.Consequently, the prices of the fruit also drops, causing losses,” a grower said.

Harvesting of apples usually begins in August and September. This year, growers in the Valley say they have reaped a good harvest, but authorities stopping fruit laden trucks on the highways is causing them losses.

Truck drivers says that trucks are only allowed to pass the tunnel for a couple of hours so a day.

Fayaz Malik, president, Fruit Mandi, Sopore, Asia’s second largest fruit market, says, “Trucks are stopped on different pretexts such as security or road repair. This has become a daily pattern, which is causing us substantial losses.”

Ubaid Rashid, a grower from south Kashmir, says, “At first, apples were fetching good rates in mandis, but now rates are falling, which is worrying.”

Around 7 lakh farming families, approximately 35 lakh people, are directly or indirectly associated with the horticulture sector. Apples contribute to around 8% of Jammu and Kashmir’s gross domestic produce and the rate of the fruit has direct impact on the economy of Jammu and Kashmir.

Problems galore

“This year, we are facing many problems. The arrival of cheap apples from Iran and Afghanistan, increase in import duty by Bangladesh and, now, the halting of apple trucks on the national highway,”says Zahoor Wani, a grower from Baramulla.

“Earlier, when yatra began, the trucks were being stopped by the forces on the highway, but after the intervention of the government the trucks were allowed to ply. During the peak season, trucks should be allowed uninterrupted movement for 12 hours.Otherwise, we will continue to lose money,” he says.

National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said government should help smoothen the transportation of fruit-laden trucks on the national highway..”Our entire economy is dependent on this trade.”

For the past few days, growers across different mandis have been holding protest demonstrations.