After highway closures, traffic chaos on Mughal Road dents fruit industry further
Traffic logjam spreads to Shopian town; transporters, traders stage protest
Shopian: As the repeated closures of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway has already dealt a severe blow to Kashmir’s fruit industry, particularly apple growers and traders, the alternate route—the historic Mughal Road—is meanwhile witnessing massive traffic jams, pushing the industry into deeper crisis.
Apple season in Kashmir is at its peak, with nearly 2,000 truckloads of apples leaving Shopian district alone every day for markets across the country. However, today’s gridlock on Mughal Road brought the entire supply chain to a standstill, traders alleged.
The jam stretched so far that its impact was felt inside Shopian town itself. School children were forced to walk to their institutions, while ordinary passengers remained stranded in vehicles for hours.
Shopian, world-renowned for its sweet and juicy apples, now has truckloads of produce worth crores of rupees stuck on roadsides, the growers added.
Growers and traders fear that if these apples do not reach markets in time, the fruit will perish, resulting in devastating financial losses.
Meanwhile, the Fruit Association and Transport Association staged a protest at the Shopian Mega Fruit Mandi.
They accused the government of mismanagement, saying restrictions on heavy vehicles along the National Highway, coupled with poor arrangements on Mughal Road, have pushed the apple economy to the brink of collapse.
“If immediate measures are not taken, lakhs of metric tonnes of apples will rot and go to waste,” traders warned.
Several orchardists said that they have even been forced to halt apple harvesting, as there is no transport available to lift the produce. Many growers fear bankruptcy if the situation continues.
“Our entire year’s hard work is at stake. Without smooth transportation, we are staring at complete financial ruin,” said an anxious fruit grower from Shopian.
The growers and traders appealed to the administration to ensure unhindered movement of fruit-laden trucks and streamline traffic on Mughal Road before the damage becomes irreversible.
