advertisement
“Around 30-50 percent of apple orchards in Kashmir have been destroyed completely. Matam ka mahaul hai (There is an atmosphere of mourning),” farmer leader Shiv Kumar Sharma aka Kakkaji, informed reporters at a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, 26 November.
Addressing the media, Tanwir Ahmed Dar, an apple farmer from Langate tehsil in Kupwara said,
Following the abrogation of Article 370 in August and heavy snowfall in Kashmir, farmers have been hit by crop damage and are reeling under financial distress.
This was the second press conference to be organised by farmer leaders in the capital in last 10 days. They are demanding that damage to crops in Kashmir be declared a natural calamity by the Centre.
While the earlier press conference was conducted by AIKSCC (All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee), the recent press conference was organised by Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, whose representatives have just returned after visiting 25 villages in Kashmir between 21 and 25 November.
Kakkaji, who had led the 2017 Mandsaur farmer protests, further elaborated on the plight of the farmers,
Speaking to The Quint, Tanwir Ahmed Dar explained how the lockdown affected the transportation of apples and why the farmers in Kashmir are in dire need of a relief package,
Amanjeet Singh, a resident of north Kashmir and an apple farmer from Baramulla, is of the opinion that the Kisan Credit Card loan has added to the woes of farmers with the debts on farmers ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. He commented,
The farmer leaders also told the reporters in Tuesday’s press conference that the state agency NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd) has been able to procure only 309 trucks of apples thus far, while the usual average is in lakhs, annually.
Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh has demanded compensation for Kashmir farmers and wants the Centre to announce a relief package soon.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)