- Farooq Abdullah links highway crisis to lack of prayer.
- Srinagar–Jammu route shut for three weeks, crippling apple transport.
- Crores lost as apples rot in stranded trucks.
GG News Bureau
Srinagar, 17th Sept: National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday attributed the ongoing transportation crisis crippling the state’s apple trade to the “wrath of Allah,” urging people to return to prayer.
“It is because we don’t offer namaaz. Such difficulties awaken us and turn us towards Allah,” Abdullah said, responding to questions about the three-week closure of the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway following a 60-metre cave-in at Udhampur. Thousands of trucks carrying apples remain stranded, triggering massive losses for farmers.
Rejecting speculation of sabotage and criticism of the NC-led administration under his son Omar Abdullah, the senior leader accused opponents of “playing politics with the lives of the people of J&K.” Without naming Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he added, “Some people’s houses run on this politics. They receive money from Delhi and manage to survive on it. Did the people damage the mountains or bring rain? It was the wrath of Allah because we are far from Him.”
Kashmir supplies around 80% of India’s apples. With the highway cut off, boxes of fruit have been rotting in stranded trucks. Farmers, whose annual earnings depend on this crop, have pleaded for urgent repairs.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sought Union Roadways Minister Nitin Gadkari’s intervention. Gadkari assured “concrete steps” within 24 hours. The Border Roads Organisation is working to restore the sunken stretch or create an alternative route.
Meanwhile, the Railways has begun moving the produce by freight trains. An estimated 2,000 tonnes—about 1.26 lakh boxes—have already been shifted. Despite this, losses are running into crores, and essential supplies in the Valley are dwindling. Petrol pumps are running dry, LPG is scarce, and prices of poultry and vegetables are soaring.
