From worry to relief: Snow brings new life to apple farms in Shopian

Shopian, Feb 20: A fresh spell of snowfall blanketed the upper reaches of south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday, igniting hopes among thousands of apple farmers.

The snowfall began early in the morning and continued intermittently till late evening, draping the entire area in a white blanket.

According to an official, the upper reaches of the district received experienced 3 to 4 inches of snow.

“The hilly areas like Heerpora along the Mughal road, Sedow and Bohrihalan received around 2 inches of snow,” said the official.

He said that light rains lashed the plains of the district.

Gulzar Ahamd Malik, a resident of Shopian said that intermittent rains began lashing the plains of the district since morning.

The precipitation has ended a long-drawn-out dry spell raising hopes among farmers in the area.

The district, known for producing high-quality apples would receive high snowfall. However, over the last two years, the area did not receive any significant snowfall,  fuelling the farmers’ fears of a poor harvest.

Zahoor Ahmad Rather, president of Apple Federation of India, Jammu and Kashmir said that the rains and snow helped to break the protracted dry spell to some extent.

He said that it provided some relief to farmers in several apple-producing pockets.

Abid Hussain, an apple cultivator from Shopian said,  “The rainfall and a significant drop in temperature were crucial for the apple orchards.”

Last year, the area also experienced inadequate snowfall, which impacted both production and the quality of produce.