Srinagar: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the Jammu Kashmir Apple Farmers’ Federation staged a protest at the Press Enclave here on Sunday over their various demands.
CITU Jammu and Kashmir unit president and CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami said trade unions and apple farmers jointly organised similar protests across the country to press their demands.
“The apple industry is facing a huge loss. There should be a ban on the import of apples from Iran and US, otherwise people associated with it here will suffer losses,” he said.
“We also demand that the government waive loans of farmers like it did for those earning billions,” he said.
Farmers should also get minimum support price for their crop, he said.
He also criticised the government for its “anti-people, anti-worker and anti-farmer policies.”
The CPI(M) leader expressed serious concern over problems being faced by the common people in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Kashmir is facing its worst power crisis in the last two decades and is reeling under an acute power shortage. People are facing extreme inconvenience due to long and unscheduled power cuts at a time when temperatures in the valley have dipped to sub-zero levels. Hospitals are bearing the brunt of the crisis and industries as well as other crucial sectors are suffering too,” he said.
Tarigami said Jammu and Kashmir is a “direct victim” of the Indus Water Treaty.
“J-K is made to bear a recurring loss of billions of rupees annually besides limiting its 15,000 MW power generation potential,” he said, urging the central government to compensate for these losses.
The government must implement the recommendations made by the Rangarajan Committee to hand over two Jammu and Kashmir-based hydroelectric power projects to the Union territory, he said.

Press Trust of India