Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Sep 22: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Anshul Garg on Monday said that 1.37 lakh Metric Tons of fresh fruits have been dispatched from the Valley in the last ten days through the National Highway, Mughal Road and the newly introduced parcel train service.
He said a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), formulated recently by the Chief Secretary in coordination with district administration, BRO, traffic police and National Highway authorities, has streamlined the movement of fruit-laden trucks and ensured smooth flow of essential commodities.
Addressing a joint presser at his office, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir Garg, along with IGP Traffic Kashmir Division, M Suleman Choudhary, said that around 1,500–2,000 fruit trucks accumulate daily in the Valley and these are being dispatched alternately via the National Highway and Mughal Road.
Garg added that traffic police are monitoring the process round the clock to prevent delays.
He informed that restoration works on the highway have significantly improved vehicle movement. “Where earlier only 1,500–2,000 trucks would move daily, now nearly 3,500–4,000 trucks are being cleared. Today alone, around 2,000 trucks left Qazigund for Jammu and are expected to reach their destination by evening,” he said.
On Mughal Road, he said that over 1,800–1,900 trucks were cleared towards Jammu yesterday, prioritising the evacuation of fresh fruit to ease growers’ concerns.
The Divisional Commissioner also highlighted the role of the new parcel train service launched from Anantnag and Baramulla to Adarsh Nagar, New Delhi. “Every day, around 800–1,000 tons of fresh fruit are being dispatched through this facility. Farmers from both north and south Kashmir are directly availing it to transport their produce conveniently to Delhi markets,” he said.
Also, Garg reassured that the Valley has no shortage of petrol, diesel, LPG, food grains or consumer goods. “We currently have a week’s stock of fuel and food items, which is being replenished regularly. People should avoid panic buying or believing in rumours,” he urged.
He further stated that with stable weather and continued highway restoration work, the Valley’s buffer stock of essentials is likely to increase in the coming days.
It is worth mentioning that fruit cultivation, particularly apple farming, is the backbone of Kashmir’s rural economy, providing livelihood to thousands of families. Each harvest season, the timely transportation of produce from Kashmir to markets outside the Valley, especially in Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities, becomes critical.
Meanwhile, as per an official communiqué, the Div Com said everyday around 1500-2000 vehicles including fruit trucks & empty tankers accumulating in Valley are being systematically despatched towards Jammu on alternate days via NH & Mughal Road.
“The pattern of traffic is streamlined & monitored by the Traffic Police personnel so that if traffic on NH is plying towards Jammu today the traffic will be plying on Mughal Road towards Valley & tomorrow the traffic will move towards valley on NH while through Mughal Road the vehicles will move towards Jammu,” he said.
The pattern is reversed so that the traffic flow is streamlined & remains uninterrupted, Div Com stated.
He added that the restoration of the National Highway is being expedited with the support of local administration and agencies & the IGP Traffic is closely monitoring the traffic movement in coordination with NHAI & local administration which has resulted in fast movement of vehicles.
He informed that as of now movement of trucks has significantly increased from previous 1500-2000 vehicles per day to 4000-4500 vehicles per day now.
He added that 2000 fruit laden trucks have left from Qazigund towards Jammu, and all the fruit laden trucks from the valley shall be despatched towards Jammu by late evening.
Yesterday, around 1800-1900 trucks have reached Jammu via Mughal Road so that the dispatching of fresh fruit is given top priority and growers may not face any inconvenience, Garg said.
“Recently the Parcel train service was inaugurated by HLG of J&K so the fruit is directly taken from Srinagar to Adarsh Nagar Delhi,” Div Com said and added that 800 to 1000 tons of fresh fruit are being transported daily through Parcel Train Services to Delhi.
He said that the demand for train loading operations from Baramulla and Anantnag is being processed further to help the farmers.
In response to rumors of shortages of essential supplies, Div Com said that the stock of essential supplies, including petrol, diesel, LPG, and other crucial items is adequately available for at least one week. There is no need for panic buying, he said.
He added that the FCS&CA department continues to ensure availability of fuel at pumps and its fair distribution besides replenishing stocks regularly.
He appealed to people not to pay heed to rumors in this regard.
He also added that divisional administration, district administrations and FCS&CA are closely working to ensure availability of food stock in the Valley.
Citing improvement in weather, he stated that the buffer stock will be augmented on a day to day basis.
He said that the Chief Secretary is personally reviewing the situation daily to streamline the one-way traffic system and issuing regular directions to agencies to work with close coordination.
He appreciated people for the cooperation amid the recent circumstances which helped administration to address the challenges properly.
While speaking on the occasion, IGP said that around 8,000 to 10,000 trucks carrying essential goods for the Valley that were previously stranded have been cleared, facilitating smoother movement of essential goods.
