Killing of non-locals: Kashmir’s famed red apples fail to reach outside markets

‘Local commission agents stop purchase of apple crop from farmers’

5 Dariya News

Srinagar 06-Nov-2019

There are hardly any buyers available to purchase the top quality apples from south Kashmir’s Shopian area this harvest.The apple industry received a big jolt after the authorities halted non-local truckers to ferry the cash crop to outside mandis.According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), famous for its quality and taste, the apple industry in this part of Kashmir received another blow after non-local buyers flew from the area after the recent killing of non- locals in the area.Hilal Ahmad Dar, a local grower from Shopian said that he could hardly manage to sell some 20 percent of the crop initially, while as, rest 80 percent was lying in boxes at his stores. “There is no buyers in the area and local commission agents have also stopped to purchase the crop from farmers,” he said.Of late, the farmers started selling their fruit boxes under Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) at the fruit mandi Shopian and Kulgam with the hope to sell the perishable crop on time.The farmers have been fearing for huge loses in case their perishable crop was not transported to outside mandi on time. And to avoid the loses in absence of buyers in the area and non- availability of transportation facilities, the farmers preferred to sell their crop to the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), which is the nodal agency for procuring apples.“We have procured thousands of apple boxes in last few days after huge rush of farmers, which led to stocking,” an official said, adding, we have stopped procuring the crop till the stock was not cleared from the mandi stalls.“The registration process is on and anyone can register to sell their fruit here,” he added.However, the farmers said that huge stock of apple laden boxes have been piling up in the mandi stalls after authorities halted the movement of truckers in the area in wake of transition of Jammu and Kashmir State into two union territories last week and the several killing of non-locals in south Kashmir parts.The farmers in Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian lamented that they have been facing tough time as there is no space left at fruit mandis- particularly at Aglar in south Kashmir’s Shopian district to stock the apple boxes for sale.They said the authorities have halted all the trucks at Qazigund on National Highway and Hirpora village of Shopian district on Mughal Road last week, after they were evacuated them from already identified “safer zones” by the government.Now, the authorities have been asking the distressed farmers to bring the fruit boxes Lethpora- Awantipora where from the crop would be ferried to outside mandis.(KNO)