Fruit traders, growers decry stoppage of fruit trucks on Kashmir highway

They alleged that since the start of Amarnath Yatra, trucks laden with perishable fruits are stopped along the highway due to 'security reasons'

Fruit growers and traders at the Asia’s largest fruit mandi, Sopore, decry traffic curbs on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to which fruit-laden trucks are getting stuck resulting in huge losses to them.

They alleged that since the start of annual Amarnath Yatra on June 30, trucks laden with perishable fruits are stopped along the highway due to “security reasons".

“For the last few days, the fruit-laden trucks bound for various states are being stopped and halted on the highway. This unnecessary stoppage of fruit-laden trucks by police at several places along the highway has aggravated our problems,” President Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, Sopore Fruit Mandi, Fayaz Ahamd Malik said.

The harvesting of early varieties of apples and other fruits like peach, plum and pears has already started in Kashmir and are ready to be sold in outside states.

Also Read | Amarnath Yatra: Over 40,000 pilgrims visit holy cave shrine so far; 5 dead

“These varieties are treated acute perishable thus needs immediate and quick transportation to various destinations outside Jammu and Kashmir. Currently, we dispatch more than 45 trucks of fruit to different mandis from Sopore alone and the arrival of fruit is picking up,” he said.

Malik demanded that the government should devise a mechanism that won’t hamper the transportation of fruit. “Amarnath pilgrims are our guests and we welcome them. But the steps taken by the administration for stopping fresh fruit-laden trucks along the highway in view of the Yatra is worrisome as it is causing huge losses to the fruit industry,” he said.

Questoning the rationale behind stoppage of fruit laden trucks along the highway, Malik asked, “The pilgrims are not visiting Kashmir for the first time. Earlier they used to come for the pilgrimage but this time the administration is hell bent to make people suffer here in the guise of yatris.”

Sopore Fruit Mandi yearly turnover reportedly is approximately Rs 2600 crore and it is the largest wholesale fruit market in Kashmir, and the second-largest in Asia after Azadpur mandi in Delhi.

Horticulture plays a key role in the economy of the UT as it generates approximately Rs 10,000 crore income annually. As per official figures, the livelihood of 3.5 million people in the UT is directly or indirectly dependent on horticulture and it is the main employment generation sector. According to the 2011 census, J&K had a population of 12.5 million.

The UT produces 17,64,264 metric tonnes of fresh and 2,70,104 metric tonnes of dry fruit annually.