Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 15: The Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Union has written to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking immediate implementation of a crop insurance scheme and restoration of the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) after recent hailstorms and strong winds caused widespread damage to orchards across Kashmir.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, the Union said intense hailstorms, lightning and gusty winds on May 12 ravaged apple orchards in Tangmarg, Pattan, Wagura, Kreeri, Rafiabad, Baramulla, Bandipora and the Kangan belt of central Kashmir.
The growers’ body said orchards in Shopian and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir had also suffered extensive damage in similar storms a few days earlier.
Describing the losses as “irreparable”, the Union said the storms devastated hundreds of apple orchards that form the economic backbone of lakhs of families associated with the horticulture sector.
“The sudden loss has not only dealt a severe blow to orchard owners but also affected everyone linked to the horticulture industry,” the letter said, adding that the damage would have wider economic repercussions across the region.
The Union said that despite repeated demands and budgetary provisions, the crop insurance scheme for the horticulture sector has yet to be implemented. It also sought the revival of the MIS to protect growers from financial distress during natural calamities.
Chairman of the Union, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, said the organisation had repeatedly approached the Government over the years seeking protection measures for fruit growers vulnerable to weather-related disasters.
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