Srinagar: The extended closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway is beginning to create difficulties for people in the valley. Complaints are being heard of dearth of essential supplies like fresh vegetables, fruits, mutton, etc, while shopkeepers are overcharging people for the past many days.
Hundreds of trucks carrying essential supplies to Kashmir are stuck at various places on the national highway for the past ten days now, first due to snowfall, landslides, and shooting stones, and now due to the collapsing of a bridge wall near Jawahar Tunnel.
Zubair Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar, told Kashmir Reader, “I went to the market early morning to buy vegetables, but I couldn’t find fresh vegetables. Now the shopkeepers and vendors are taking advantage of this and overcharging the people. Today, vegetable sellers were selling onions at Rs 70 a kg, when some days before it was Rs 40 a kg. They sell at their own rates, making the excuse of highway closure.”
Another Srinagar resident, Nasir Ahmad, said, “The rates of vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, are not at the prescribed government rates. People are suffering due to this. Now it has become difficult to live. Eggs are being sold at Rs 85 per dozen and meat at Rs 600 per kg. Prices have touched the sky and as a result people’s lives have become miserable.”
On their part, shopkeepers in Srinagar said that the prices go up every time the highway is closed, because wholesale dealers sell at high rates.
“For the past many days the highway has been closed with many trucks carrying supplies stuck on the road. The situation will worsen more if the road is not restored as soon as possible,” a shopkeeper said.
On Sunday evening the authorities announced the closure of the highway for another five days due to the bridge wall collapsing near Kela Morh in Ramban.
The Director of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has said that there is enough stock of essential supplies for this month. He has also said that an official team is carrying out daily market checks at different places across the valley to inspect the quality of goods and the rates at which they are being sold.
Strict action will be taken against those who overcharge, he warned.

NAVEED AHMAD NAJAR