Declare unseasonal snowfall in Valley national calamity: Farmers

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 16

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), has demanded that unseasonal and heavy snowfall in the Kashmir Valley should be declared a national calamity and farmers should be compensated.

Led by activists Yogendra Yadav, VM Singh, Raju Shetty, P Krishnaprasad and Prem Singh Gehlawat, a seven-member delegation visited the Valley said Rs 10,000-crore horticulture industry, which has been “backbone of J&K’s economy” suffered a double whammy this season.

The activists said the farmers suffered loss due to lack of transport and cold storage facilities following abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.

They said crops, including pear, cherry and grapes harvested in August were stranded due to complete shutdown in the Valley, resulting in massive loss to farmers.

“Once harvesting of apples began, curbs on telephones for the first 60 days and on internet (to date) ruled out communication between apple growers, transporters and traders,” they said.

“Farmers failed to bring their produce to the markets as trucks were not allowed to go to villages. Orchard owners were forced to bring their apples on the highways, which caused inconvenience and additional cost,” said Yadav, following his three-day visit to Ganderbal, Pampore, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantanag.

Accusing the Central Government of not doing enough, the delegation said the administration has not declared the unseasonal snowfall a calamity or initiated a field-level survey to estimate the extent of damages.

“At least 75 per cent of apple produce comes from Kashmir. Horticulture industry in J&K has a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore annually. If 70 per cent loss is true, the immediate loss would be around Rs 7,000 crore,” said Singh

“The government had authorised the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to procure the produce, but process failed as the NAFED procured just 0.01 per cent of the estimated produce,” they said

The activists said farmers rued that the NAFED sold apple in the market at lower prices, which brought down the wholesale prices. They also demanded minimum support price (MSP) for apple.