SRINAGAR: Sharing concern of fruit growers and dealers of the State for colossal losses caused to Horticulture sector due to recent devastating floods in the State and inclement weather conditions early this year, the Minister for Finance and Ladakah Affairs, Ab.Rahim Rather on Wednesday assured that the State Government will endeavour to get special relief package from the Centre for the badly flood hit fruit growers and dealers. “Horticulture Sector being the back bone of Kashmir’s economy, the government is committed to protect it at all costs,” Rather added.
Speaking to a gathering of fruit growers and dealers at Fruit and Vegetable Mandi, Char-i-Sharief in District Budgam, Rather said that he has been personally visiting several orchards since last two weeks and was moved to see the huge losses cause to fruit production due to inclement weather conditions early this year which has now been further compounded due to flash floods and closure of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway for about two weeks.
He assured the fruit growers that the State Government would make all out efforts to provide much needed relief to the effected Fruit Growers and Dealers. He informed that a Group of Ministers (GoM) of the State led by him has earlier this week met the Prime Minister, Narindra Modi and impressed upon him to relax State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) norms to enable the flood hit victims of the State to get adequate relief. He said Fruit Industry has always given sustenance to the livelihood of the State’s people in disturbed conditions from time to time adding that the State Govt. was duty bound to bring this sector out of the present morass. He said the Insurance Companies have also been requested to include recent floods in the J and K State under Insurance risk cover to leverage the huge losses caused to the people belonging to various Sectors of life.
The Commissioner Secretary Horticulture, Sanjeev Verma, District Development Commissioner, Budgam, Manzoor Ahmad Lone, Director Horticulture Planing and Marketting Showkat Ahmad, DIG, Traffic, Alok Kumar, Director Horticulture, Kashmir, SSP, Budgam, Mohd Irshad,Dy Director Horticulture(P&M), Qazi Aijaz Ahmad and other concern officers and field functionaries were present on the occasion.
Responding to the demands of the fruit growers, Rather assured that adequate measure will be taken to check sale and stocking of spurious pesticides adding that stringent action will be taken against the unscrupulous traders indulging in marketing spurious sand sub-standard pesticides and fungicides. The Growers alleged that marketing of spurious pesticides has been one of the causes of detoration of Horticulture produce. Mr. Rather asked the DIG, traffic to regulate aviability of trucks for carrying fruit consignment from Kashmir valley to other terminal Fruit Mandis of the country. He also called for stream lining the freight rate system so that Fruit Growers are not fleeced by way of charging exorbitant rates.
The President of the Fruit Growers Association, Charisharief, Bashir Ahmad Baba while highlighting the problems of the Fruit Growers said that the whole kandi areas of Tehsil Chartisharief and Chadoora have suffered colossal losses worth crores of Rupees as 100% produce of the Nashpati Pear got decayed in Fruit Boxes due to incessant rains coupled with the closure Srinagar National High Way for about 2 weeks adding that the Nashpat Fruit has short shelf life and ripens in boxes very quickly. He said the main Nakh Production of the area also got damaged due to early leaf fall giving a severe economic blow to the Fruit Growers of the area. He said the orchardists and fruit dealers have now been rendered bankrupt making them unable to return their debts and bank loans.