The recent outcry of the fruit growers over the sinking fruit industry in Kashmir has been undoubtedly taken seriously by those in the echelons of power as SSP traffic responsible for regulating the traffic on Srinagar-Jammu highway has been attached. It is a matter of concern that the truckloads of apple were impeded on Srinagar- Jammu Highway which caused damage to the perishable fruit. Obviously if the trucks loaded with apple will strand on the Highway, the fruit is bound to spoil as its shelf life is very short lived. For a grower, who invests everything into the fruit orchards, it is difficult to sustain if his produce ends up in smoke at the end of the year. For the whole year the growers invest into their orchards by using fertilisers, fungicides, pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals for the upkeep of fruit. Apple growers undoubtedly put their blood and sweat into the fruit with a hope that his toil will not go waste. His crop, if allowed to rot on a road, can be equated with an edifice which he constructed for a whole year and burns instantly after its completion. The cost for apple cultivation has increased manifold in Kashmir and the growers can hardly afford this expenditure now. There is however no relief for them as the selling price of their apple has not increased to that extent.
As there is no quality control mechanism in place for the chemicals the orchardists use, the apple growers are within their rights to demand the execution of quality control mechanism. In short, the apple industry is fraught with dangers and the industry needs an earnest attention for its survival in Kashmir.
Generally it fetches a joy when one reaps the fruits of one’s toil after a hectic struggle; but the growers have to shed tears over the loss they suffer for none of their faults. A big chunk of Kashmir’s population is associated with apple industry which is a mainstay to its livelihood. If the apple industry is allowed to ruin, it will adversely impact the economy of Jammu & Kashmir. Before it is too late, the government should coalesce its efforts to do away with the ills plaguing the apple industry in Kashmir. Over years, the apple growers have been crying hoarse that the industry faces neglect but some of their core concerns have gone unheeded during the reigns of previous popular governments of erstwhile J&K state. As there is no quality control mechanism in place for the chemicals the orchardists use, the apple growers are within their rights to demand the execution of quality control mechanism. In short, the apple industry is fraught with dangers and the industry needs an earnest attention for its survival in Kashmir.
