Growers’ union seeks compensation, implementation of CIS, MIS
Ovaise Gul
Srinagar, May 13: The recent hailstorm in several parts of Kashmir, especially northern areas, has wreaked havoc on apple orchards, with fruit growers claiming losses worth millions of rupees and terming the weather calamity as a major blow to the Valley’s horticulture sector, affecting thousands of fruit growers.
President of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union (KVFGCDU), Bashir Ahmad Basheer, said orchards in Tangmarg, Pattan, Wagura, Kreeri, Rafiabad, Baramulla, and Bandipora in north Kashmir, along with the Kangan belt in central Kashmir, suffered heavy losses during the intense storm on the evening of May 12. He said similar hailstorms had damaged orchards in Shopian and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir a few days earlier.
“In these weather vagaries, the growers have suffered losses worth millions of rupees. The exact figure cannot be gauged due to the severe intensity of the damage,” Basheer said, adding that growers have termed the losses “irreparable” and said the weather calamity has shattered their hopes for the ongoing season.
The Chairman said repeated incidents of hailstorms and erratic weather have exposed the vulnerability of Kashmir’s horticulture sector, which supports lakhs of families across the Valley. The union expressed concern over the non-implementation of the Crop Insurance Scheme and the absence of the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), despite repeated demands and budgetary provisions announced earlier.
The growers’ body urged the administration, including Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, to immediately implement a crop insurance scheme for the horticulture sector, restore the MIS, and announce a comprehensive compensation package for affected orchard owners.
The union also demanded that experts from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) and officials from the Horticulture Department be directed to conduct an assessment of the losses caused by the recent hailstorms across the Valley.