Safeguard Kashmir's Apples

Few sights capture the loss of harvest for Kashmiri farmers more vividly than apples turning black in the back of stranded trucks along the Srinagar–Jammu highway. For nearly three weeks this vital lifeline remained shut for heavy vehicles after rain-triggered landslides. Close to 4,000 trucks carrying apples worth millions of rupees lay stranded. Farmers, who had invested an entire year of care into their orchards, helplessly watched their produce collapse under the weight of rot.

Kashmir produces nearly 80 percent of India's apples, contributing to local livelihoods. When the highway closes at harvest time, the loss can lead to financial ruin for the growers. For truckers too, it is a make-or-break moment.

The reopening of the highway for heavy vehicles this week thus comes as a relief. Trucks are finally moving but so much has already been lost. Boxes that once fetched Rs 600 now sell for ₹400, if they haven't already rotted. Some farmers have been left with nothing but piles of waste along the roadside.

What is needed is foresight, not fire-fighting. The government must treat the apple harvest as a national economic priority. Alternate routes, storage facilities, and cold-chain logistics should be built well before the rains arrive. Dedicated freight corridors, whether rail or road, must be operationalized at scale, not in token form. Above all, contingency plans should be in place so that growers are never again forced to throw away their year's hard work.

The government has attempted band-aid solutions. A parcel train has been launched from Budgam to New Delhi, but with a capacity of just one truckload per day, it cannot possibly meet the demands of a two-million-tonne industry. Mughal Road was briefly used, but its treacherous terrain is unfit for heavy carriers. Meanwhile, the assurances of“round-the-clock clearance” offered little comfort to those watching their livelihoods decay in real time.

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