Shopian: Orchardists here said that government has not sanctioned compensation from the damages caused by November snowfall, while assessment has been conducted by the revenue department.
The snowfall – according to them – caused heavy losses to the horticulture sector resulting in losses worth crores and decline in future produce.
Orchardists also demand that the compensation should not be similar to what government provided them after damages caused to the sector in 2018.
“They paid mere amount then – but this time we hope government, after witnessing our losses, should release good amount to the deserving orchardists,” Tariq Ahmad Malik, an orchardist said.
“The sector suffered almost 50 per cent losses with the untimely snowfall. We demand that compensation should be released to the orchardists so that we can plant new trees at the place of damaged ones, ” Abdul Jabar Bhat, an orchardist from Shopian told Kashmir Reader.
A group of orchardists from Muran area of Pulwama told Kashmir Reader that their livelihood is solely dependent on apple farming,“but after heavy damages, government has yet again remained mute towards their woes”.
“It costs us thousands for buying ropes, iron rods and nut bolts to detach the tress which were damaged. Everyone knows how we suffered last year first by negligible market rates and then snow havoc,” Bashir Ahmad Mir, another orchardist from Pulwama said.
A senior revenue official from south Kashmir said that the revenue department has finalised the losses caused by snowfall.
“We have completed assessment figures and now we are waiting for government order and release of funds forcompensation,” he said.

Raashid Hassan