Shopian, Sept 11 – A wave of distress is sweeping through South Kashmir’s fruit belt as apple growers and truck drivers raise urgent alarms over the frequent halting of fruit-laden trucks along the Mughal Road. The delays, they say, are not only frustrating but financially disastrous—especially during peak harvest season.
At a press conference held in Shopian, the Fruit Association Shopian strongly criticized what they described as arbitrary traffic restrictions that have reduced the movement of trucks to only a couple of hours each day. Worse still, only six-tyre vehicles are being allowed through, leaving thousands of trucks, filled with perishable apple produce, stranded for days.
Mohammad Ashraf, President of the Fruit Mandi Shopian, voiced serious concerns:
“These restrictions are a death sentence for the apple industry. We already face weather uncertainties and market instability—now our apples are rotting in trucks because of traffic mismanagement.”
He further alleged that while Shopian-side traffic gets a narrow time slot, vehicles from the Poonch side are moving without major restrictions all day long, creating a sense of discrimination and resentment among local growers.
“On Thursday, only about 150 six-tyre trucks were allowed to move, while oil tankers and poultry carriers passed freely. By the time our turn comes again, another two days will have passed—and the damage will be irreversible,” he said.
A Protest with Rotten Stakes
Anguished by the delays, truck drivers assembled near Circuit House on Mughal Road to protest the inconsistency and alleged violations of traffic advisories.
“The official advisory said trucks would be allowed, but in reality, only a few were. The rest of us are left stranded with fruit that can’t wait. These are apples—not cement bags,” said one visibly upset driver.
For the people of South Kashmir, apple farming is not merely seasonal business—it is survival. A single delay in dispatching the produce can lead to losses in crores, broken supply chains, and entire families going without income for months.
An Appeal for Urgent Intervention
The Fruit Association and affected drivers jointly appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and former CM Omar Abdullah to intervene personally.
“Let the trucks move at least on alternate days, throughout the day if six-tyre restrictions must continue. But don’t kill our harvest by stalling it,” said Ashraf.
The Mughal Road has, time and again, proven to be a lifeline for the horticulture sector, especially when the national highway is closed. Yet, growers argue, it is managed with little empathy or foresight during the time it matters most.
Let’s Humanize This Crisis
This is not just about traffic advisories or logistics—it’s about lives. It’s about a father in Shopian whose entire year’s earnings are packed in crates in the back of a truck. It’s about families in Pulwama who depend on timely market deliveries to send their kids to school. And it’s about the thousands whose livelihoods are wilting alongside rotting apples.
Let us not forget: Kashmir’s apple is not a luxury—it’s a lifeline. And if we don’t act now, that lifeline may soon snap.
