Pulwama, May 26: Thieves targeted a newly established high-density (HD) apple orchard in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, making away with hundreds of valuable apple plants.
The theft occurred in Nikloora village of the Litter area, where a freshly developed HD apple orchard owned by Abdul Hamid Negroo was targeted.
Mohammad Younis Negroo, son of Abdul Hamid, told Rising Kashmir that the orchard had been set up just ten days ago. “Around 400 high-density apple plants were planted over approximately four kanals of land,” Younis said, adding that they had invested nearly Rs 7 lakh in setting up the trellis system, land preparation, and purchasing planting material.
He recalled that the orchard was irrigated on Sunday evening and everything appeared normal at the time. However, to their shock, the family discovered on Monday morning that most of the plants had been uprooted and stolen.
“Out of the 400 plants, only one remains intact. Thieves seem to have hurriedly left behind five other plants, possibly in a rush,” Younis said.
Negroo said a formal complaint has been lodged. “Police are investigating the incident, and we hope the culprits will be apprehended soon,” he added.
