KCCI seeks immediate relief for fruit growers as winds crush apple orchards

Srinagar, Sep 4: In the wake of a devastating natural calamity, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has expressed its deep solidarity with the fruit growers of Kulgam and Shopian, whose orchards were severely damaged by high-speed winds that swept across the districts on Monday.

The KCCI has called for urgent relief measures to support the affected growers, many of whom are now facing a financial crisis.

According to a statement issued by the KCCI, the fierce winds wreaked havoc across thousands of kanals of orchards, knocking down ripened apples from trees just before harvest. The damage is extensive, with some of the worst-hit villages bearing a resemblance to a "carpet bombing" of apple orchards, leaving the growers devastated and their families heartbroken.

For many small-scale fruit growers, the losses are catastrophic. With their entire crops destroyed, they are now left with nothing to repay their loans from banks or the advance payments taken from fruit traders. The KCCI emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting that these growers have lost not just their produce, but their financial stability and means of livelihood.

"The natural calamity in the form of high-speed gusty winds and hailstorm destroying apples once again serves as yet another warning for the urgent need for crop insurance—a long-standing demand of the KCCI and Fruit Growers Associations," the statement read.

The KCCI acknowledged the recent statement by the Director of Horticulture, who announced that crop insurance would be implemented after March 2025. While the chamber welcomed this move, it stressed that the measure is long overdue. The KCCI is now appealing to the Lieutenant Governor's administration to provide liberal compensation to the affected farmers and growers.

"This compensation will offer them much-needed relief and help them support their families during the difficult times ahead," the KCCI urged. The chamber further demanded that the losses caused by the destroyed crops be assessed on a war footing and that compensation be sanctioned at the earliest.