Over 1.37 lakh metric tons of fresh fruit, including apples, dispatched outside Kashmir in 10 days: J&K Government

Over 1.37 lakh metric tons of fresh fruit were successfully dispatched from the Kashmir valley in the past 10 days, the J&K government said on Monday (September 22, 2025).

“Every day, around 1,500-2,000 vehicles, including fruit trucks and empty tankers accumulating in the Valley, are being systematically dispatched towards Jammu on alternate days via Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and Mughal Road,” Anshul Garg, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, and M Suleman Choudhary, Inspector General of Police, Traffic Kashmir Division, said. 

The movement of fresh fruit, especially apples, was halted due to heavy rains that resulted in the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for three weeks since the last week of August. It resulted in rotting of tonnes of apples worth crores of rupees in stranded trucks, badly denting the fruit industry of Kashmir at the peak harvest season.

Mr. Garg said during the past 10 days, under the strict Standard Operating Procedures (SoP), the Traffic Police, National Highway Team, BRO, and other relevant agencies successfully dispatched over 137,000 metric tons of fresh fruit using the National Highway, Mughal Road and Parcel Train Service.

“The pattern of traffic is streamlined and monitored by the traffic police personnel. The restoration of the National Highway is being expedited with the support of local administration and agencies, and the IGP Traffic is closely monitoring the traffic movement in coordination with NHAI and local administration, which has resulted in fast movement of vehicles,” Mr. Garg said.

He said the movement of trucks has significantly increased from the previous 1,500-2,000 vehicles per day to 4,000-4,500 vehicles per day now. “Around 2000 fruit-laden trucks have left from Qazigund towards Jammu, and all the fruit-laden trucks from the valley shall be dispatched towards Jammu by late evening,” he added.

On Sunday, around 1800-1900 trucks reached Jammu via the Mughal Road in an effort to dispatch fresh fruit. “Recently, the parcel train service was inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor of J&K, so the fruit is directly taken from Srinagar to Adarsh Nagar, Delhi,” the Divisional Commissioner added.

Around 800 to 1,000 tons of fresh fruit were being transported daily through Parcel Train Services to Delhi. “The demand for train loading operations from Baramulla and Anantnag is being processed further to help the farmers,” he added.

Meanwhile, Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and legislator from Pulwama, Waheed Parra said there was “a deliberate attempt to kill Kashmir’s apple industry, the backbone of our economy to favour Himachal apples and cripple us”. 

He said the Mughal Road and national highway blockades are “deliberate”. “Amid border skirmishes, what’s the justification for stopping apple trucks? If it were Op Sindoor or Yatra, would roads be blocked for so long? What justification does the government have? Accountability must be fixed and movement restored,” the PDP leader said.