Srinagar: PDP leader Iltija Mufti on Wednesday held a sit-in protest at a ‘mandi’ in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district in support of crop insurance and better infrastructure for apple growers in Kashmir, saying farmers deserve protection from the losses.
Speaking to reporters at the protest site, Jablipora Fruit Mandi, she said apple growers face losses every year due to the Srinagar-Jammu national highway closure and natural calamities.
“Their demands are not like they are out of this world…For example, a crop insurance scheme should be introduced for them because every year we see, whether it is due to road closures, hailstorms, floods, or natural calamities, our apple farmers here in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Kashmir, suffer a lot of damage,” she said.
The PDP leader said the government should waive off their loans and provide better storage facilities and improve transportation facilities.
Mufti asserted that horticulture is very important for the economy of Jammu and Kashmir, which kept the economy of the region afloat even during the militancy era.
“We know that for so many years, whenever there was a disturbance here, even during the era of militancy, the one thing that kept the economy of Jammu and Kashmir going was horticulture.”
Charging that the NC government is not paying attention to the farmers’ demands, she asserted that her party would not allow the government to favour some capitalists.
“If you want to help Adani, you are putting pressure on the Kashmiri apple, our farmers. We will not let this happen. So, to favour some capitalists, you want the fruit economy of Kashmir to shut down; this is completely wrong,” she added.