Srinagar: The closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) for the fifth day in a row has left Kashmir’s fruit industry in deep trouble.
With the harvest season nearing its peak, traders and growers warn that losses could run into crores of rupees if the highway is not restored soon.
President of Fruit Mandi Sopore, the largest wholesale fruit market in Kashmir and the second-largest in Asia after Delhi’s Azadpur Mandi, sounded the alarm over the situation.
“Nearly 300 to 400 trucks carrying pears and other early fruit varieties are stranded on the highway. If the road is not cleared soon, the losses will run into crores. Lakhs of people depend on this trade, and perishable fruit cannot wait,” President, Fayaz Ahmad Malik Kaka told KINS.
He added that while growers share the pain of people hit by floods in Jammu, the ongoing blockade is causing heavy damage to Kashmir’s horticulture sector.
“Our orchards are full, mandis are overflowing, and trucks have been stuck for days. If this continues, poor growers and traders will suffer badly. The horticulture sector, which is the backbone of our economy, is under serious threat,” he said.
The highway has been blocked due to continuous rains and multiple mudslides, including a major one at Samruli. Officials said clearance work is in progress round the clock, but bad weather and heavy damage are slowing the process.
Early fruit varieties like Bagogosha pears, Galamast, and Red Ghala apples are stuck en route to markets outside the Valley, while large quantities of produce remain unpicked in orchards across Sopore, Shopian, Pulwama, and Srinagar. (KINS)
