Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday called for immediate emergency transport measures to evacuate Kashmir’s horticultural produce as repeated landslides and bad weather shut the Srinagar-Jammu highway severing its land link of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the world.  According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehbooba said prolonged road blockages were threatening the quality and market value of perishable produce, particularly apples, during the peak marketing season.

“Every harvesting season represents a year of patience, investment and hope for our orchardists. Today, many growers are anxiously watching truckloads of their produce remain immobilised because the Valley’s road connectivity has been severely affected,” she said.  “The administration must recognise that this is not merely a traffic management issue but an economic emergency,” Mehbooba added. She urged authorities to facilitate immediate movement of fruit-laden trucks and to consider all safe alternative routes, including the Mughal Road for suitable commercial vehicles, whenever conditions permit. 

In a statement, the PDP said Kashmir’s fruit industry supports the livelihoods of lakhs of people, including orchard owners, labourers, transporters, commission agents and packaging workers. It warned that continued disruption of the supply chain could cause huge financial losses and hit the wider rural economy. The party demanded a dedicated operational framework for evacuation of horticultural produce involving traffic agencies, civil administration and transport authorities.   

It also stressed that disaster management must go beyond restoring roads and include measures to protect livelihoods. “Commercial consignments carrying perishable fruit should be given planned and uninterrupted passage whenever conditions allow,” the PDP said, urging authorities to act swiftly to prevent avoidable losses to Kashmir’s fruit growers. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)