Highway Disruption During Peak Harvest Season Drives Kashmir Apple Growers To Despair; CM Omar Raises Issue With Gadkari
The blockade of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, during peak harvest season has agitated growers as the fruit is rotting in the stranded trucks.
Published : September 16, 2025 at 6:53 PM IST
|Updated : September 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM IST
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government is facing the heat from orchardists and political parties for the continuous disruption of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway which has incurred multi-crore losses to the apple sector of the valley.
The backlash came even as the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah held a video meeting with the Union Minister for Roads and Highways Nitin Gadkari which was also attended by the officials of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). “The union minister issued some instructions that are aimed at addressing the current crisis & we expect to see those implemented immediately so that regular movement of trucks is no longer hindered,” Omar said.
Gadkari said a two-lane temporary diversion has been built, and traffic movement has resumed on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway (NH 44). “Despite relentless rains and a major hill slide, NHAI teams are working tirelessly to keep this key highway operational. A two-lane temporary diversion has been built, and traffic movement has resumed. Over a dozen excavators and 50+ earthmovers are deployed round the clock for clearing and repairs. We are determined to restore this vital national highway to full strength at the earliest, ensuring safety and convenience for all road users,” he posted on X, after the meeting.
Leading the tirade was National Conference MP Ruhullah Mehdi who in a press conference in Shopian said that the horticulture sector is “under an attack”. “It looks like a pattern to attack our horticulture economy. Horticulture, agriculture and their allied sectors are the backbone of our economy, much bigger than tourism. In spite of outrage in Kashmir, the trucks were allowed from Jammu towards Srinagar, when movement should have been allowed from Srinagar to Jammu,” Mehdi said today.
He said that although the Shopian Mughal Road has been cleared, we hope the NH 44 will also be restored. “The government’s responsibility is to protect our economy. If they cannot even ensure smooth passage of fruit trucks, then they are failing their mandate to the people,” he said, referring to the elected government led by NC.
Earlier in the morning, Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) led by legislator Sheikh Khursheed, the brother of jailed MP Engineer Rashid, attempted a protest in Srinagar. The protest, which was against the government for failing to restore the highway, was foiled by the police and dozens of the activists.
Lashing out at the government, Khursheed said the blockade of the highway is an assault” on the economy of Kashmir. “The government is giving assurance to the growers but is practically doing nothing to restore the highway.
Communist Party of India (M) leader and legislator MY Tarigami lashed out at the National Highway Authorities of India for its “inefficiency” to restore the highway which has been closed for three weeks now. “The NHAI is not able to restore a patch of 300 meters at Udhampur despite having the capacity to build highways. Unfortunately, when we start sending apples outside Kashmir something untoward happens to the national highway. The ongoing situation is devastating,” he said.
The highway was blocked on August 26 after multiple landslides triggered by heavy rainfall buried the road stretch and collapsed a bridge at Tharad area in Udhampur district. The NHAI has created a temporary lane over the area for the passage of the traffic till its complete restoration.
lltija Mufti, PDP functionary and daughter of Mehbooba Mufti said she called on the LG Manoj Sinha who “kindly assured to expedite” smooth movement of trucks on the National Highway to avoid further losses.
Peoples Conference president and MLA Handwara said that the chief minister Omar Abdullah should have flown to Delhi to ensure quick restoration of the highway. “What stopped the shawl gifting CM sahib to land in Delhi, meet ministers and ensure expeditious clearance of the highway. Did you even go there? Did you even pretend to be bothered? I can understand the union government treating it like yet another highway closure. But you should have known it is not yet another closure (SIC),” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, the fruit industry representatives said that despite two-days of strike and meetings with government and LG, there is no relief yet. “Today the traffic was allowed from Jammu to Srinagar. Mughal road was opened for Srinagar to Jammu bound traffic. More than 8000-9000 trucks loaded with apples are stuck on the highway from Kashmir side,” Bashir Ahmad Basheer, president of New Kashmir Fruit Association, told ETV Bharat.
He said that train cargo service which was launched on Monday cannot replace the highway for apple transportation. “More than 1000-1500 trucks transport apples daily from Kashmir to outside on normal days. An eight-coach cargo can transport only 20 trucks a day,” he said.
Amid mounting pressure, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg met fruit growers and traders in Shopian. “Since yesterday, more than 1,200 fruit-laden trucks have been evacuated. With the cooperation of BRO, traffic police, and district authorities, the Mughal Road and National Highway are being managed in a circular flow to balance essential supplies from Jammu and the transportation of fruits to markets,” Garg said.
The Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary Atal Dulloo has also directed the officials to prioritize movement of trucks carrying essential commodities, fruit-laden trucks from the Valley, vehicles carrying perishable food items from Jammu, and petroleum and LPG tankers to prevent any shortage of supplies.
Basheer said that they are hoping the fruit trucks are allowed from Wednesday on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. “LG has assured us, the elected government is also actively involved in the restoration of the highway. We hope for some relief to prevent massive losses in the apple industry," he said.
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