Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 15: The continuous curfew and strikes in South Kashmir since last week have dealt a heavy blow to the apple trade as the produce is not being traded out of the town.
Shopian, Pulwama and Kulgam districts have been under curfew since September 7 after locals protested the killings of five persons in CRPF firing.
Mohammad Amin Mir, President Apple Growers and Dealers Association, Shopian (AGDA) said the trade has suffered a loss of Rs 100 crore in the last two weeks as fruit market (Mandi) has been closed down due to continuous restrictions by the Government even as peak apple plucking season is going on.
“We supply 80-100 truckloads of apple to other states in the peak season. But, this season due to the clampdown the fruit is in orchards or in Mandis. We apprehend huge losses in absence of storage facilities,” Mir said.
“The security men don’t allow us to move out to the Mandi, where thousands of fruit boxes worth crores of rupees are lying from last one week and there are the apprehensions that the fruit might have rotten,” said Mir.
Not only local traders are being hit, but also dealers from other States who trade in the Valley, particularly in South Kashmir, have fled due to curfew.
Known for its most famed apple varieties-Delicious, Kullu delicious and Kinnor- Shopian is among the major contributors to the Rs 4,000 crore apple industry in the Valley where rough estimates says six lakh families are directly involved with the trade.
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