Growers' Patience Worn Thin: CM Omar On NH-44 Stranding

Srinagar- Amid growing frustration over apple-laden trucks stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said he had discussed the connectivity crisis with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister said the situation along NH-44 was affecting fruit growers, whose patience is wearing thin.“They have been very patient for the first few days, but watching their hard work rot because NHIDCL is unable to stabilise the highway-their patience has worn thin, and that is totally understandable,” Omar said.

He added that concrete steps are expected within the next 24 hours to address the problem but refrained from sharing further details until the plan is officially implemented.

Earlier, Omar had suggested that if the Central Government is unable to maintain the highway, it should hand over control to the J&K administration.“Had the highway been under my control, I would have opened it. This highway falls under the jurisdiction of the Government of India. If they cannot maintain it, they should hand it over to us. I will deploy a team of engineers who are currently available here,” he said, criticizing the Centre's handling of the situation.

The Chief Minister also called on the Railway Minister to expand train services to ferry apples to markets across the country.“We are thankful for starting the train service, but one train is not sufficient. It should be operated regularly so that fruit growers have the option to transport apples either by train or by road,” he said.

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