Mubashir Alam Wani
Srinagar, Sep 16: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra on Tuesday urged the government to dedicate the Mughal Road exclusively for heavy vehicles to ease the crisis faced by fruit growers and transporters due to prolonged closures of the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway.
Speaking to reporters at the party headquarters here, Karra said that thousands of trucks carrying fruit had been stranded for days now, leaving produce damaged and growers devastated. “If these vehicles return, it will be waste material. The losses are colossal, and the growers as well as transporters are under severe stress,” he said.
The Congress leader also voiced strong environmental concerns, arguing that the widening of NH-44 by blasting mountains has destabilised ecology, triggering recurring landslides. “We have challenged nature, and this is punishment from nature. Without tunnelling, this road will remain a failure,” he said.
Karra, the MLA from Central Shalteng constituency, said the problem was not just logistical but environmental. “This highway has surrendered. We have challenged nature by blasting mountains and ignoring ecology. Landslides are inevitable, and this is nature’s punishment,” he said, adding that widening projects had ‘failed’ to factor in environmental sustainability.
The JKPCC chief said the crisis had hit multiple green industries, including tourism, mutton, horticulture, and transport, warning that the economic damage in the coming months will be “very bad” if immediate corrective measures are not taken.
Karra expressed solidarity with the affected families, saying the horticulture sector, which is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy, has been pushed to the brink.
He announced that Congress would soon prepare a comprehensive programme regarding compensation for fruit growers and transporters. (KNO)
