Shopian, October 17: Heavy rush of vehicles near Arhama Fruit Mandi in Shopian district during night hours leads to traffic congestion as hundreds of load carriers laden with apple boxes are pulled over near the Fruit Mandi here.
Locals here told Kashmir Images that heavy traffic jam can be witnessed near Arhama Fruit Mandi since apple harvesting began in the district as drivers of load carriers park their vehicles randomly leaving no space for commuters and private vehicles.
A group of drivers here said that load carriers are allowed to enter the Fruit Mandi only after 7 pm but due to heavy vehicular rush they get stuck upto the midnight here. “During previous years, we used to enter the Fruit Mandi 2-3 times in one single day but this year a single entry takes us a whole night as our vehicles are stuck in traffic jam and it is only in the morning that we are able to take an exit,” they added.
President Fruit Mandi Arhama Shopian, Mohd Ashraf Wani said, “This year the fruit production has doubled with nearly 1 lac 50 thousand apple boxes entering the Mandi everyday which are to be dispatched to other stations also but the number of load carriers available here are not enough for transporting the same.”
When contacted Deputy Commissioner Shopian, he said that they have directed the concerned department for ensuring the traffic is regulated near the Fruit Mandi. “At the end of this fruit season, the traffic congestion problem will get solve itself, however, I will be discussing the issue with other officials of the district to ease the traffic flow,” he added.
