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Photos: Kashmir crisis leaves bumper apple crop to rot

After the abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir by the government on August 5, protests have been rampant in Kashmir. In another form of protest, the fruit traders in the region have resolved to not harvest apples, undermining Kashmir’s most lucrative export. Militants have circulated letters and stuck posters outside mosques, appealing to orchard owners not to harvest and instead join the “resistance”. As a result, the fruit markets are deserted and there’s a reduction in the sale of apples.

Updated on: Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM IST

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Men carry boxes of apples during the harvesting season, on the outskirts of Srinagar. Many farmers in Kashmir are deliberately leaving their apples to rot, undermining the region’s most lucrative export as bitterness towards the government grows. Either in anger or at the urging of local militants, farmers have joined in the rebuke of India’s recent actions by deliberately sabotaging a crop vital to the local economy. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

Men carry boxes of apples during the harvesting season, on the outskirts of Srinagar. Many farmers in Kashmir are deliberately leaving their apples to rot, undermining the region’s most lucrative export as bitterness towards the government grows. Either in anger or at the urging of local militants, farmers have joined in the rebuke of India’s recent actions by deliberately sabotaging a crop vital to the local economy. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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Tens of thousands of extra troops have been deployed since early August, when New Delhi scrapped Article 370, and brought in a communications blockade that cut off the state from the outside world. Political leaders and thousands of civilians have been arrested, with allegations of torture and abuse levelled at authorities -- which deny them -- and protests have since raged. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

Tens of thousands of extra troops have been deployed since early August, when New Delhi scrapped Article 370, and brought in a communications blockade that cut off the state from the outside world. Political leaders and thousands of civilians have been arrested, with allegations of torture and abuse levelled at authorities -- which deny them -- and protests have since raged. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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The fertile Himalayan region usually sells hundreds of millions of dollars worth of apples each year, and more than half of Kashmiris are engaged directly or indirectly in cultivation. At one orchard in central Shopian district, Ghulam Nabi Malik (R) and his brother usually sell 7,000 boxes of apples a year for markets and kitchen tables across India, earning them some seven million rupees (nearly $100,000). (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

The fertile Himalayan region usually sells hundreds of millions of dollars worth of apples each year, and more than half of Kashmiris are engaged directly or indirectly in cultivation. At one orchard in central Shopian district, Ghulam Nabi Malik (R) and his brother usually sell 7,000 boxes of apples a year for markets and kitchen tables across India, earning them some seven million rupees (nearly $100,000). (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

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Their land is now idle, with branches sagging under the weight of unpicked fruit. “Let it rot on the trees,” Malik said. Amid the latest unrest, Malik told AFP that harvesting would allow the Indian government “to tell the world that everything is fine in Kashmir”. And everything, he says, is far from fine. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

Their land is now idle, with branches sagging under the weight of unpicked fruit. “Let it rot on the trees,” Malik said. Amid the latest unrest, Malik told AFP that harvesting would allow the Indian government “to tell the world that everything is fine in Kashmir”. And everything, he says, is far from fine. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

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Empty boxes are stacked outside an apple orchard in Shopian district. Militants have circulated letters and stuck posters outside mosques, appealing to orchard owners not to harvest and instead join the “resistance”. “Apple growers and students are ready to sacrifice this year and not betray the blood of martyrs,” reads one such notice, nailed to a wooden post and signed by a local rebel commander. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

Empty boxes are stacked outside an apple orchard in Shopian district. Militants have circulated letters and stuck posters outside mosques, appealing to orchard owners not to harvest and instead join the “resistance”. “Apple growers and students are ready to sacrifice this year and not betray the blood of martyrs,” reads one such notice, nailed to a wooden post and signed by a local rebel commander. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

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Farmers sort freshly plucked apples. Many farmers say they are willing participants in the campaign, although there have been threats and one orchard owner was attacked. In one village, a former police officer who deserted to join a rebel group set fire to empty boxes his own family had bought for packing fruit. Militants have also put pressure on fuel stations, forcing off the roads many trucks needed to transport the fruit. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

Farmers sort freshly plucked apples. Many farmers say they are willing participants in the campaign, although there have been threats and one orchard owner was attacked. In one village, a former police officer who deserted to join a rebel group set fire to empty boxes his own family had bought for packing fruit. Militants have also put pressure on fuel stations, forcing off the roads many trucks needed to transport the fruit. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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Children play near empty boxes stacked outside an apple orchard. But locals insisted to AFP that the insurgents were not the reason for abandoning what they say is a bumper crop this year. “To leave the ripe apples rotting on the trees is the only form of protest we can do under the current circumstances,” Malik said. People say they are more frightened of security forces. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

Children play near empty boxes stacked outside an apple orchard. But locals insisted to AFP that the insurgents were not the reason for abandoning what they say is a bumper crop this year. “To leave the ripe apples rotting on the trees is the only form of protest we can do under the current circumstances,” Malik said. People say they are more frightened of security forces. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

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A deserted view of the city’s fruit market in Srinagar. The state government has tried to resolve the situation with the apples by promising security for growers and offering to buy apples directly. It insists these measures are working. Deliveries of apples to market were only down by around 25%, said Metharam Kriplani of the New Delhi-based Kashmir Apple Merchants Association. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

A deserted view of the city’s fruit market in Srinagar. The state government has tried to resolve the situation with the apples by promising security for growers and offering to buy apples directly. It insists these measures are working. Deliveries of apples to market were only down by around 25%, said Metharam Kriplani of the New Delhi-based Kashmir Apple Merchants Association. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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The “biggest problem” facing buyers was the lack of phone lines as a result of the region’s communications lockdown, Kriplani said. But growers that spoke to AFP have refused the offer of government support, and fruit markets in Shopian and elsewhere in Kashmir are empty -- despite some traders claiming that local authorities attempted to browbeat them into opening as normal. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

The “biggest problem” facing buyers was the lack of phone lines as a result of the region’s communications lockdown, Kriplani said. But growers that spoke to AFP have refused the offer of government support, and fruit markets in Shopian and elsewhere in Kashmir are empty -- despite some traders claiming that local authorities attempted to browbeat them into opening as normal. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

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A security personnel stands guard at an empty government-run fruit marketplace in Shopian district. The authorities “threatened that they would destroy the shops (at the market) if we didn’t open. But the market is deserted,” said Bashir Ahmad Bashir, head of the local fruit-growers association. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

Published on Sep 30, 2019 12:37 PM

A security personnel stands guard at an empty government-run fruit marketplace in Shopian district. The authorities “threatened that they would destroy the shops (at the market) if we didn’t open. But the market is deserted,” said Bashir Ahmad Bashir, head of the local fruit-growers association. (Tauseef Mustafa / AFP)

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