Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir government Tuesday said that heavy rains and landslides in late August and early September this year led to the closure of National Highway-44 (NH-44), causing disruption in the transportation of horticulture produce, particularly apples, to outside markets.

In a written response in the Assembly, the government said that the current apple production in Kashmir for the 2025 season has been estimated at 22.15 lakh metric tonnes (MT).“The closure of NH-44 and Mughal Road severely affected the movement of fruit-laden trucks, stranding over 22,000 MT (about 2,200 trucks) along the highway as of September 17”.

It said that despite the disruption, the government managed to move around 45,922 trucks of fruit outside Jammu and Kashmir through both NH-44 and Mughal Road routes, including produce from previous seasons kept in storage.

It added that an alternate route via Mughal Road was made fully operational to facilitate transportation, while rail dispatches from Budgam and Anantnag to Delhi and Jammu also resumed.

“During the road blockade, about 1,25,376 apple boxes worth Rs 10.03 crore were sent by train. Additionally, a control room was established at Qazigund to monitor and coordinate truck movement,” it said.

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