Stench of rotten apples greet visitors entering Himachal

Ambika Sharma

Solan, November 1

Visitors entering the state are greeted with stench emanating from trucks loaded with apples, parked along the Pinjore-Parwanoo section of NH-5. Awaiting procurement under the Market Intervention Scheme, commuters can see trucks carrying apples packed in gunny bags lined along the highway.

While quality apple is sold in the market, remaining are packed in gunny bags and transported to Parwanoo for procurement. Contractors, who procure the fruit, are assigned the job by the HP Horticulture Produce Marketing & Processing Corporation (HPMC) and the HP State Cooperative Marketing and Consumer’s Federation Ltd (HIMFED).

There are times when truckers have to wait for days for the procurement and the fruit starts rotting due to high temperature. Tourists travelling to Himachal express disgust at this foul smell, which greets them as they enter the state from the expressway. “It is lamentable that tonnes of apples are left to rot on the road in the absence of adequate processing facilities in the state. People, especially children and the elderly, face a harrowing time inhaling the obnoxious smell for kilometres,” said Vivek, a Chandigarh resident, who was on way to Shimla.

The truck drivers also have a distressing time as they are bound to stay with the truck till the produce is emptied.

Pradeep Moudgil, Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Parwanoo, said the issue of stench emanating from the rotting apples was being regularly pursued with the HPMC officials, who plead lack of space for housing these trucks. He said the problem of dumping rotten apples thrown callously by the truckers was being monitored, but there was little solution for trucks parked along the highway.