Jahangeer Ganaie
Shopian, Sep 11: The Fruit Association Shopian on Thursday sounded alarm over severe losses being faced by apple growers due to frequent halts of fruit-laden trucks along the Mughal Road.
Addressing a press conference, the Association accused the authorities of restricting the movement of trucks to just a couple of hours a day and allowing only six-tyre vehicles, leaving thousands of apple-loaded trucks stranded.
President of the Fruit Mandi Shopian, Mohammad Ashraf, said that such restrictions are proving disastrous for Kashmir’s apple industry, which is already grappling with multiple challenges.
“We are receiving traffic advisories very late and while vehicles from the Shopian side are allowed for just a few hours, the traffic from the Poonch side moves freely for the entire day. This discriminatory practice is causing huge losses to fruit growers,” he alleged.
Ashraf pointed out that on Thursday, barely 150 six-tyre trucks carrying apples were allowed to move, while most of the traffic passing included oil tankers, poultry carriers and other goods vehicles. “Now, fruit trucks will have to wait at least two more days for their turn, and by then thousands of trucks will be stranded. Since Mughal Road is currently the only route available, the fruit industry is staring at catastrophic losses,” he warned.
The Association demanded that if only six-tyre trucks are to be allowed, they should at least be permitted to move throughout the day on alternate days, instead of restricting them to just a few hours. “This is the only way to save our perishable crop from rotting inside trucks,” Ashraf said, appealing directly to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene and resolve the crisis.
Meanwhile, scores of truck drivers staged a protest near the Circuit House Shopian on Mughal Road, demanding unhindered passage of fruit-laden vehicles.
The protesting drivers accused the traffic police of violating their own advisories.
“Today, the advisory clearly stated that heavy motor vehicles would be allowed to ply freely, but in reality, only a handful of trucks were permitted to move every two hours. The rest of us remain stranded. Our fruit is perishable and if we are kept waiting like this, it will rot inside the trucks,” said one of the aggrieved drivers.
The issue of fruit trucks getting stranded on Mughal Road has become a recurring crisis. Every harvest season, apple growers and transporters complain about traffic restrictions and prolonged road closures, which lead to heavy financial losses.
Growers in South Kashmir stressed that the administration must understand the sensitivity of the situation. “Apple is not just a crop; it’s the backbone of Kashmir’s economy. Such delays not only destroy our produce but also cripple the livelihood of lakhs of families dependent on this sector,” said a grower from Shopian.
The truckers and fruit growers jointly appealed to the administration and traffic authorities to ensure smooth, timely, and fair movement of vehicles on Mughal Road, warning that further negligence could devastate the apple industry at its peak season. (KNO)
