Halting of fruit-laden trucks on the Srinagar-Jammu highway persists with about 6,000 trucks waiting, some since October 2, to reach Jammu.

President Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union (KVFGCDU) Bashir Ahmad said that for a few days apple laden trucks were allowed to move towards Jammu while halting for just one or two days.

He said since October 02 the situation has again reached to square one with 6000 trucks waiting for their turn to move towards Jammu.

He said that among the apple-laden trucks which are waiting for their turn, there are a few hundred trucks that are waiting for their turn since October 2.

He said that on every alternate day around 3,000 trucks are getting loaded here in Kashmir but just a few hundred are allowed to move towards Jammu and others get time after three, five or even seven days to move towards Jammu.

He said that the government claims are confined to press notes only and the situation is worse on the ground.

“I have never witnessed such things in the last four years,” he said, adding., despite meeting the Home Minister of India Amit Shah and others, all of their assurances have proved hoaxes.”

He said that the market is also getting down each passing day as fruits are reaching markets late.

Notably, around 70 percent of the population in Kashmir is directly or indirectly dependent on the apple industry.