Highway Blockade Puts Kashmir’s Fruit Industry on the Brink: Tarigami

SRINAGAR: The horticulture sector, regarded as the backbone of Kashmir’s economy, is reeling under a severe crisis as the prolonged closure of the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway (NH-44) has left thousands of fruit-laden trucks stranded for days, resulting in massive losses and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of families.

The NH-44, the Valley’s only all-weather road link with the rest of India, has remained blocked since late August following torrential rains and landslides. A 300-metre stretch in Udhampur district suffered extensive damage, and despite temporary repairs, the movement of heavy vehicles continues to face severe restrictions. The timing of the blockade has devastated growers as it coincides with the peak harvest season of perishable crops such as Bagogosha pears and early Gala apples.

With hundreds of trucks immobilised on the highway, fruit consignments are deteriorating rapidly. The Fruit Growers and Dealers Association has already pegged losses at more than Rs 200 crore, warning the figure could climb to Rs 400 crore if the highway is not restored swiftly. In Sopore, Asia’s second-largest fruit market, trading has been suspended to avoid further losses.

The Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union has issued an even grimmer assessment, estimating the total loss this season at nearly Rs 700 crore. Its president, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, accused the government of “failing to ensure smooth transportation of perishable goods” and warned that the industry was being pushed into an unprecedented crisis.

For many orchardists, the disruption revives painful memories. “It feels like 2022 all over again. We suffered massive losses then, and today we are staring at an even bigger disaster,” said a grower from Sopore. Abdul Rashid, another grower from Rafiabad, lamented that apple prices have crashed from Rs 600 per box to Rs 400 due to the glut caused by delays in transportation.

Growers and traders have also criticised the authorities for failing to develop alternative transport networks. They have repeatedly sought the opening of Mughal Road for heavy trucks, the use of railway services for large-scale fruit consignments, and the establishment of crop insurance schemes to cushion losses during such frequent natural calamities.

CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami has joined industry bodies in demanding urgent government intervention. Expressing sympathy with the horticulture community, he urged both the Union and Jammu and Kashmir governments to compensate affected growers and to treat fruit trucks as a priority. “The frequency of freight services must be increased so that Kashmiri produce reaches markets in other states without delay,” he said.

He stressed that the crisis highlights the fragility of Kashmir’s dependence on a single highway. “With horticulture supporting nearly 70 per cent of households in the Valley, repeated disruptions caused by climate-induced disasters are not just logistical hurdles but profound threats to the economic stability of the entire region,” Tarigami warned.

Although the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has indicated that the road may reopen soon for light vehicles, it admitted that full restoration for heavy traffic will take more time. For growers, that delay could mean the collapse of their annual harvest.

“The community is waiting to see if the government’s actions will match the scale of the disaster,” Tarigami added. [KNT]