CITU, apple farmers hold protest demonstration in Srinagar

Srinagar, Nov 26: Activists of CITU and Jammu Kashmir Apple Farmers Federation held a protest demonstration here against “anti-people, anti-worker and anti-farmer policies of the government”, a press release said.

The protesters were shouting. While addressing the demonstration, CITU President Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami expressed serious concern over problems being faced by the common people. “Kashmir is facing its worst power crisis in the last two decades and is reeling under acute power shortage, with people facing extreme inconvenience due to long and unscheduled power cuts at a time when temperatures in the valley have dipped to sub-zero levels. Hospitals are bearing the brunt of the crisis and industries as well as other crucial sectors are suffering too,”he said.

He added that J&K is a direct victim of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and has been put to a disadvantageous position. “J&K is made to bear a recurring loss of billions of rupees annually besides limiting its 15000 MW power generation potential,” Tarigami said while urging the central government to compensate for these losses.
Similarly,” he said, “raising royalty from existing 12 per cent to 40 per cent in all Centre Sector Hydroelectric Projects (HEPs) in the region is a legitimate demand which should be fulfilled if the union government is serious to streamline the precarious power situation in Jammu and Kashmir.” The government must implement the recommendations made by the Rangarajan Committee to handover two J&K based hydro-electric power projects to J&K, he added.

While addressing the demonstration Ghulam Nabi Malik Kisan said that apples provide livelihood to thousands of households of Kashmir but apple farmers are in distress. The major issue confronting the apple farmers is the denial of remunerative price. They are being supplied with spurious pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers, which harm the produce and orchards instead of treating different diseases, he added.

Mohamad Afzal Parry, Kisan leader, demanded 100 percent import duty on foreign apples, provision of fertilizers and pesticides at subsidized rates to apple farmers and cold storage facility to apple producing districts. The crop Insurance scheme must be implemented at ground level under the supervision of the government, he said.