Srinagar, Nov 15 (KNS): A seven member delegation of All India Kissan Sangarsh Coordination Committee, who was on a three-day visit to Kashmir valley, Friday urged the government to declare the recent heavy snowfall as national natural calamity and compensate the growers without any delay.
“After visiting four to five districts and meeting with farmers, we have reached to the conclusion that farmers of Kashmir have not only been hit by recent snowfall, but the situation after August 5 has also dealt a blow to them. There is a immediate need to do the ground survey to assess the losses and farmers should be compensated accordingly,” the delegation member and renowned social activist and politician Yugendra Yadav told reporters, here.
According to Kashmir News Service (KNS) the delegation also had a meeting with representatives of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Not only recent snowfall must be declared as national natural calamity, but they should be compensated for the losses which they suffered due to the last four months of uncertainty. In the last four months fruit trade has collapsed due to the unrest in Kashmir. Government atleast can pay compensation to the sufferers,” Yadav demanded.
He said that the condition of farmer in Kashmir is in bad shape and he atleast needs some compensation so that he can again restart farming.
Yadav declined to comment on the ongoing communication blockade in Kashmir, saying he was not authorized to speak on political issues. However, he said, due to communication blockade, the apple industry’s demand-supply chain got broken.
“Apple grower from Kashmir is not able to speak to Aadti (trader) in Delhi due to non-availability of communication tools and where there is demand of ten trucks 500 are reaching to the market. Where there is demand, nothing is reaching. There is transportation problem and trucks are loading apple boxes from highway and the grower has to take it there. Highway is getting blocked time and again and transportation rates of fruit has doubled. It is affecting the livelihood of the farmers immensely,” he said.
Yadav also said that due to communication blockade, the losses due to recent snowfall were high. “In today’s world a famer knows how to check the weather on his mobile phone. But due to non-availability of internet he (farmer) could not get the prior warnings. If there would have been internet, there is possibility that losses might have been half. Internet is not a luxury but a necessity in today’s world,” he added. (KNS)