Growers warn of valley-wide strike; ask elected government to resign if it cannot save fruit industry, emotional scenes at Sopore Mandi
Waris Fayaz
Sopore, Sep 15 :
Fruit mandis across Kashmir observed a complete shutdown on Monday in protest against the government’s failure to ensure the smooth movement of fruit-laden trucks. Growers warned of a valley-wide strike if the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway is not fully restored within two days.
Emotional scenes unfolded at Asia’s second-largest Fruit Mandi in Sopore, where growers with tearful eyes pleaded for the survival of the industry.
Many orchardists broke down during the protest, lamenting that their year’s hard work was rotting in stranded trucks while the government “watched silently.”
Speaking at the protest, President Fayaz Ahmed Malik, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of failing the people. “If the CM can’t ensure the passage of fruit trucks, he has no right to sit in office. Resign if you can’t do anything,” he thundered, adding that no MLA had spoken up for the growers.
Growers alleged that while trucks carrying iron and other commodities were being allowed to move, fruit-laden vehicles were deliberately held back.
Warning of an escalation, Malik stated that if the highway is not restored within 48 hours, growers will announce a valley-wide strike that could paralyze economic activity across the region.
It is worth mentioning that mandis across the Valley—including Sopore, Handwara, Shopian, Kulgam, Anantnag, and others—remained shut as part of a two-day shutdown call on September 14 and 15.
Earlier, the fruit growers’ association reported that hundreds of trucks carrying perishable fruit consignments remain stranded on the highway and have not been allowed to proceed to their destinations, resulting in “massive damages and heavy losses” for growers—(KNO)