Gone to waste': Kashmir growers watch apples rot as key highway is blocked

"Two trucks bearing his apples worth more than $10,000 are among rows of stranded carriers that stretch for miles along a key highway connecting his city, Baramullah, in Indian-administered Kashmir to the remainder of India. Their tarpaulin covers bulge with crates of fruits that have begun to blacken and collapse under the weight of rot. All our hard work for the entire year has gone to waste. What we painstakingly nurtured since the spring is lost."

"The JammuSrinagar national highway the only all-weather road connection in the Himalayan region has been repeatedly blocked since August 24 after rain-triggered landslides damaged a section of it. For more than a month, the region has been battered by a severe monsoon fury, killing at least 170 people and causing extensive damage to properties, roads, and other infrastructure. Horticulture forms the backbone of Indian-administered Kashmir's economy."

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the region's only all-weather road, has been repeatedly blocked since August 24 after rain-triggered landslides damaged a section. More than a month of severe monsoon weather has killed at least 170 people and severely damaged properties, roads, and infrastructure. About 4,000 trucks carrying Kashmir apples are stranded during the peak harvest season, with crates rotting in the heat. The valley produces roughly 20–25 million metric tonnes of apples annually, around 78 percent of India's output, making horticulture the backbone of the local economy and exposing growers to catastrophic income losses.

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