Flying veggies from cut-off Lahaul reach Shimla after Leh-Delhi airlift, sell at Rs 200/kg

The prolonged and severe monsoons, resulting in road blockades and rotting crops, have caused the prices of most vegetables to skyrocket.

The prices of exotic vegetables, including lettuce, broccoli, and bell peppers, have hit the roof even in Himachal, where they are grown.

In fact, exotic vegetables from Lahaul were taken by road to Leh, from where they were airlifted to Delhi, as roads were closed via Manali.

“Cauliflower from Lahaul was sold for Rs 200 per kg here in Shimla, as it was routed back into our markets via Leh-Delhi,” said Hari Krishan Rathore, a vegetable vendor in New Shimla, who offered this explanation to his regular customers, who were baffled at such high prices. Prices of most vegetables in Chandigarh have also shot up.

He says that if vegetables do not come into Himachal from Delhi-Chandigarh, there will practically be no veggies in the market, as the crop in Himachal has been destroyed due to excessive rains. Tomatoes were also sold for Rs 100 per kg, though the prices are gradually coming down.

Though road connectivity between Manali-Lahaul has been restored to facilitate the transportation of vegetables from the tribal district, the rates are still exceptionally high.

Last month, when road connectivity in most parts of Himachal was severely hit, the Lahaul-Spiti district administration arranged for the produce of the farmers, mostly exotic vegetables, to be air lifted from Leh to Delhi.

Bir Singh, a farmer from Lindur village, reported heavy losses. He had cultivated cauliflower on 10 bighas of land, but due to the road disruption, the entire crop perished in the fields. Like him, many farmers in the region have faced similar hardships. Vegetable growers like Ramsh Thakur from Solan said most farmers suffered huge losses this season.

Last month, most vegetables from Lahaul were taken by road via the Bara Lacha-Sarchu-Leh route and then air-lifted by air cargo from Leh to Delhi. The produce from the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti, especially peas, broccoli, and potatoes, is considered of very high quality and fetches very good rates in the national market.

With only a fraction of the vegetable produce air-lifted via Leh, the farmers suffered huge losses due to road closures between Keylong-Manali last month. Deputy Commissioner Kiran Bhadhana confirmed that approximately 30 tonnes of vegetables were transported via the cargo service from Leh during the disruption. She added that farmers are now using the road route through the Atal Tunnel towards Manali and Kullu. The cargo service was specially arranged to support farmers during this critical time when their produce was at risk of rotting in the fields.

Another farmer, Pritam Singh from Lahaul, said that since the Manali-Leh highway has reopened, farmers have resumed transporting their produce via Manali and the Atal Tunnel, as the Leh route involved significantly higher transportation costs due to the longer distance.