Kashmir’s Apple Growers Face Highway Hell

An almost unprecedented crisis has affected Kashmir’s apple harvest, which is essential to the Valley’s economy. After significant rainfall, flash floods, and landslides damaged important sections of the road between Udhampur, Ramban, and Banihal, the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway (NH-44), the primary route for exporting apples and other produce from the area, has been closed to heavy traffic for about 20 days. Fruit is rotting, cold storage and orchards are overcrowded, hundreds of trucks are stuck, and losses have already surpassed ₹1,000 crore and are still growing.

There have been reports of up to 2,000–3,000 trucks carrying apples and pears stuck at different locations along the highway. 700–1,200 boxes of apples, worth ₹10–15 lakh per truckload, are frequently transported by each truck. According to experts, the delay, spoiling, and less-than-ideal storage conditions may have caused up to 30 lakh apple boxes to deteriorate. About 75–80% of India’s total apple production comes from the Valley, which produces 20–25 lakh metric tonnes of apples annually. During typical years, 200–300 trucks depart daily from Sopore mandi alone for markets throughout India.

The regular flow of produce has been seriously disrupted by the highway closure. Lack of transportation and storage has prevented many orchardists from harvesting in time. Due to declining quality, Apple boxes that used to sell for ₹600 have lost value in markets, now selling for ₹400 or less. Due to capacity restrictions, other routes, such as the Mughal Road, are either inaccessible to heavy vehicles or are not practical at all.

Authorities have taken responsive action, deploying earthmovers to fix damaged road segments, promising compensation to growers and traders, and launching a special parcel train service from Budgam to New Delhi with the goal of transporting apples. However, given the scope of the crisis, many people believe that these interventions are insufficient.

The issue stems from long-standing structural weaknesses; local sources claim that during the previous seven years, the highway has been closed for 284 days. Some sections, particularly the Udhampur-Ramban section, have been weakened by heavy vehicle vibrations, overblasting, and frequent landslides.

This harvest season runs the risk of being a huge loss—not just financially, but also in terms of trust and livelihood—if immediate steps are not taken to restore road access, increase cold chain storage, permit alternate transportation routes (rail, air, or bypass roads), control traffic to minimize damage, and give growers real compensation. Kashmir’s apple growers have spent the entire year planting, caring for, and waiting; with every day that goes by without action, they watch their season—and their profits—go to waste.

Dr. Neeraj A Sharma, Honorary Consul General of Palau to India