Srinagar /BARAMULLA: Kashmir based fruit growers and dealers on Monday staged a protest against the authorities for allegedly stopping trucks laden with the fruit on Srinagar-Jammu highway causing huge losses to them.
In Srinagar and Sopore, growers and traders gathered and said that trucks carrying fruit to different parts of the country are being ‘unnecessarily’ halted on the highway in the name of checking.
They said this practice has incurred mounting economic losses to them as the fresh crop gets perished in trucks due to halt.
“We are facing tremendous losses as the fruit rots on the highway due to continuous stoppage of trucks,” said Chairman Kashmir Valley fruit growers cum dealers, Bashir Ahmed Bashir.
He said that there was the demand for the fruit grows ahead of two major festivals “Diwaali” and “Chatt Puja” but the harassment on the highway has brought despair to them.
“We request the concerned authorities to kindly look into this matter and see what is happening on the ground level. Authorities should allow hassle free traffic on a daily basis so that we are saved from further losses,” Ahmad added .
In Sopore, the protestors held up placards and banners against the government and demanded smooth movement of their trucks on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway 44 round the clock. They alleged that the authorities were “unnecessarily” stopping fruit-laden trucks on the highway which was adding to the sufferings of this industry. The protesters warned that they will suspend the fruit trade if law enforcement agencies continued to stop fruit and vegetable-laden trucks on the national highway in the name of checking.
President of Sopore fruit mandi, Fayaz Ahmad Malik, said that the neglect of the authorities towards the fruit industry has been the reason why for the past two years fruit growers have been facing huge losses. He said that the authorities hardly bother to take any steps towards the development of the fruit sector, but they should at least allow unhindered transport of the fruits.
Malik also demanded the revocation of the government’s market intervention scheme along with compensation to fruit growers for the unnecessary losses suffered by them due to halts enforced on national highway 44.

NAZIMA SIDIQ/ MUSHTAQ AHMAD