Highway havoc: Fruit mandis shut across Kashmir

Srinagar, Sep 15: Fruit mandis across Kashmir observed a complete shutdown for the second consecutive day on Monday, as growers protested against the government’s failure to clear fruit-laden trucks stranded on the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway, where “nearly 5,000 vehicles” remain stuck, causing losses of over Rs 1,200 crore.
At Asia’s second-largest Fruit Mandi in Sopore, emotional scenes were witnessed as growers broke down, lamenting that their year’s toil was rotting inside stranded trucks while the government watched silently.
“We are ruined. Every hour of delay is pushing us deeper into debt”, a group of growers with tearful eyes at Sopore mandi said.
Addressing the protesters, President Fayaz Ahmad Malik @ Kaka Ji lashed out at the government. “If the Chief Minister cannot ensure the passage of fruit trucks, he has no right to sit in office. Resign if you can’t do anything”, he said, warning that growers would announce a valley-wide strike if the highway is not restored within 48 hours.
Growers also alleged discrimination, claiming that trucks carrying iron and other goods were being cleared while fruit trucks were deliberately halted.
“The prolonged highway blockade has inflicted losses of over Rs 1,200 crore on the horticulture sector, with thousands of tonnes of perishable produce either rotting inside stranded trucks or being sold at throwaway prices,” they said.
Meanwhile, Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union president Bashir Ahmad Basheer, after meeting Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan, said that the LG assured immediate intervention.
“The LG said all fruit-laden vehicles on the national highway as well as the Mughal Road, will be cleared on priority. He also assured that the highway will be restored by tomorrow and compensation to the affected growers will be looked into,” Bashir Ahmad said, adding that Divisional Commissioner Kashmir has also conveyed similar instructions.
Following these assurances, the Union said mandi operations will resume from tomorrow. However, they warned that if the commitments are not honoured, growers will be compelled to intensify their agitation. (KNO)