JK-Srinagar, Sept 16 : Kashmir’s apple economy, the pride and backbone of the Valley, is bleeding. For the past three weeks, the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway has remained choked, leaving hundreds of trucks loaded with apples stranded under the open sky. Inside those trucks lie the sweat, toil, and year-long hope of lakhs of orchardists—now rotting away before their eyes.
The Rs 20,000 crore horticulture sector, which sustains nearly seven lakh families, is staring at devastation. Early varieties of apples—Babogosha, Ghalamast, Red Ghala—are already wasted in stranded trucks. Growers say each passing day is pushing them deeper into debt and despair.
On Sunday, more than 10,000 growers staged silent sit-ins across mandis in Kashmir, holding placards and broken hearts. Their message was simple but powerful: “Save Apple, Save Kashmir.”
Chairman of the All Kashmir Fruit Growers Union, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, expressed the helplessness of growers. “We are caught between the devil and the deep sea. If fruits are not harvested, they fall from the trees, and if harvested, they rot in stranded trucks. Either way, the losses are unbearable,” he said, his words echoing the anguish of thousands.
A delegation of growers met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, informing him that losses worth thousands of crores had already mounted. The LG promised priority passage to fruit-laden trucks, but orchardists remain sceptical. “Assurances must translate into action. Our survival is at stake,” Basheer cautioned.
The growers’ memorandum to the LG painted a grim picture: floods in south Kashmir have destroyed orchards, uprooted trees, and washed away standing crops. The community now pleads not just for better roads and smooth truck movement, but also for compensation, loan waivers, and a long-term plan to save the Valley’s lifeline.
Meanwhile, AIP activists led by MLA Langate Sheikh Khursheed took to the streets today, chanting “Save Apple, Save Kashmir.” He accused the administration of waging an “economic assault on Kashmir” by choking its horticulture economy. The protest was quickly broken up by police, with several leaders detained.
For now, Kashmir’s orchards—laden with fruit but overshadowed by uncertainty—stand as silent witnesses to a deepening crisis. Growers fear that unless trucks move and relief reaches them immediately, this season may go down as the darkest in decades for Kashmir’s apple economy.
By Mansoor Qadir-ITN
