Wed Sep 17 08:41:31 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only all-weather road connecting Indian-administered Kashmir to the rest of India. This blockade, occurring during the peak apple harvest season, has stranded approximately 4,000 trucks carrying apples, causing widespread spoilage and potentially devastating financial losses for Kashmiri apple growers, who produce approximately 80% of India’s apples. Protests have erupted over the government’s slow response, with growers demanding immediate action to clear the highway. While the government has announced measures like a dedicated train to transport the fruit, growers say it isn’t enough to mitigate the large scale losses.
**News Article:**
**Kashmir’s Apple Harvest Rotting as Landslide-Blocked Highway Cripples Economy**
**Srinagar, Indian-Administered Kashmir** – Thousands of tons of apples are rotting on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, the lifeline connecting Indian-administered Kashmir to the rest of India, due to monsoon-triggered landslides that have blocked the vital route for weeks. The crisis threatens to devastate the region’s economy, which relies heavily on horticulture, particularly apple production which accounts for 80% of India’s total output.
Approximately 4,000 trucks laden with the season’s harvest are stranded, with apples beginning to spoil, leading to estimated losses of nearly $146 million. Farmers are facing ruin, seeing their entire year’s earnings going to waste. “All our hard work for the entire year has gone to waste. What we painstakingly nurtured since the spring is lost.” said Javid Ahmad Bhat, a local grower who has two trucks stranded.
Growers have staged protests, shutting down fruit markets across Kashmir, condemning the government’s perceived inaction. The government’s response has been criticized as inadequate. While authorities have introduced a dedicated train to transport apples, growers argue its capacity is far too limited to address the scale of the crisis.
The region’s Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, has called on the federal government to swiftly restore the highway or hand over control to local authorities. Nitin Gadkari, the federal minister for road transport and highways, has stated that round-the-clock operations are underway, but stranded truck drivers and farmers remain skeptical.
“We have been stranded here for 20 days, and the government has shown no urgency in restoring the road. The losses are beyond imagination,” said Shabir Ahmad, a truck driver stuck at Qazigund.
The crisis highlights the vulnerability of the region’s economy to infrastructure challenges and raises serious concerns about the future of Kashmir’s apple industry.
First Piper 