Srinagar, Sep 16(KNS): CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Tuesday said that the prolonged closure of the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway has caused severe difficulties for apple growers and traders in Kashmir and demanded immediate measures to address the situation.

Speaking to reporters, Tarigami said the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, has remained closed for nearly three weeks following damage to a 300-metre patch in Udhampur. He questioned why the restoration work was still incomplete. “It has been said repeatedly that work is going on, but three weeks have passed,” he said.

According to him, the closure has left traders and growers without options to transport their produce during peak harvest season. “From Sopore, Baramulla, Shopian to Kulgam and Anantnag, villages are filled with apples lying unsold. The fruit is rotting. In local markets, there is no capacity to absorb such quantities, and the road closure has blocked supplies to outside markets,” he said.

Tarigami said the losses are mounting every day. “Our rough assessment shows losses of hundreds of crores. This is a huge burden for poor people whose only source of income is apples. Whether it is for education, treatment, or daily needs, they depend on this crop,” he said.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

He also asked why the government had not revived the Market Intervention Scheme that was used earlier to procure fruit which could not reach the markets. “The government used to purchase apples for processing into juice, which gave some relief to growers. That has not been done this time,” he said.

Tarigami further pointed out that apples have not been included under the minimum support price framework recommended by the Swaminathan Commission, nor under crop insurance schemes. “We are told there is a crop insurance scheme, but apples are not covered under it. Is this being done deliberately, or is it an oversight that must be corrected?” he said.

On the issue of land banks, Tarigami said the government had earlier spoken of creating facilities where fruit could be stored. “But where are those facilities? In Sopore, Shopian, Pulwama, Anantnag, Baramulla, there is no such arrangement,” he said.

Tarigami asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Union government to take full responsibility for the losses and provide compensation. “This is not a small matter. NHAI is a big institution. Why should they not take responsibility?” he said.(KNS).