The Union Railway ministry has thankfully come to the rescue of Kashmir’s fruit growers as two parcel vans, carrying apples, ran from Budgam today. Of the two coaches (parcel vans) one was attached to a Delhi-bound train and the other to a Jammu-bound train. Meanwhile, The Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the Railways will introduce a daily based parcel train service from Kashmir Valley to Delhi, carrying apples. The service will start from September 13, 2025.
While Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha has expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister, saying the daily parcel-train from Budgam to New Delhi will bring huge relief to apple growers, the fruit growers of Kashmir Valley are finally seeing some light at the end of the dark tunnel as the closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway has already resulted into the halt of hundreds of food-laden trucks on the highway for several days thus resulting into huge losses.
The decision made by the Railway ministry is appropriate and timely. Pertinent to mention here that the incessant rains, cloud bursts, floods have played havoc with Kashmir’s fruit industry. The closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway deepened the crisis as some 1,200-1,500 trucks were stranded and their cargo rotting.
Horticulture, particularly, the apple trade is the back bone of Kashmir’s economy. A conservative estimate suggests that horticulture sector’s share in J&K’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) stands somewhere between 6-9%. The sector supports about 7 lakh families and is one of the employment generating sectors. It accounts for two-thirds of India’s apple production and generates nearly Rs 10,000 crore annually. Therefore, it is the vital sector and if it is hit, J&K’s economy is hit.
In this backdrop, the Union Railway ministry’s intervention is timely and much appreciable. The parcel vans would carry the fruit directly to delhi and from their it can reach other markers comfortably. The fruit growers and highly grateful to the ministry as they were confronted with, sort of, existential threat.
Now that the Union government has taken a lead in rescuing the fruit growers of Kashmir by arranging easiest transportation, the UT government should focus on another vital issue and that is, devastation of apples and orchards during recent floods. The flooding submerged orchards in south Kashmir’s key districts—Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam besides several areas of central Kashmir. Apple laden trees have uprooted, premature fruit drop has been rampant. Not the apples only, people orchards are gone. It is a huge loss and the UT government should constitute expert committees to assess the losses to these orchardists and come up with a sustainable rehabilitation plan. While the Railway ministry’s initiative will ensure faster, safer, and more reliable transportation of Kashmiri apples to national markets, those whose apples as well as orchards are already destroyed too need a hand holding and the UT government should do the needful without any further delay.