'Wrath Of Allah To Blame...': Farooq Abdullah On Crisis In J&K Apple Industry

The "wrath of Allah" is to blame for the transportation crisis affecting Jammu and Kashmir's apple industry, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said Wednesday. "It is because we don't offer namaaz. Such difficulties (are meant to) awaken us and turn us towards Allah."

Responding to question about the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu highway for the past three weeks - due to a 60m cave-in Udhampur that has trapped thousands of trucks carrying apples - the former ex-Chief Minister rubbished talk of 'sabotage' and shot down criticism of his party's administration.

He accused critics of the NC government, led by his son, Omar Abdullah, of 'playing politics with the lives of the people of J&K'. Referring obliquely to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the federal representative in Kashmir, he declared, "Some people's houses run on this politics."

#WATCH | Anantnag, J&K | On National Highway closure affecting apple crop and Opposition blaming J&K administration, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah says, "...Politics will never stop in Kashmir. Some people's houses run on this politics. They receive money from Delhi… pic.twitter.com/I85xJqoHBV

— ANI (@ANI) September 17, 2025

"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."

Over the past several days over a thousand trucks carrying tons of fresh apples from Kashmir - a region famous for the rosy red fruit - have been trapped because of damage to the highway.

Around 80 per cent of India's overall apple production is from Kashmir.

Distressed farmers, for many of whom the annual crop represents their earnings for the year, have pleaded with the government to repair the road. But progress on that front has been slow, and NDTV reported this week about boxes of apples now lying rotting inside the trucks.

On Tuesday Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged Union Roadways Minister Nitin Gadkari to intervene. Mr Gadkari said 'concrete steps' would be taken in 24 hours to solve the problem.

The Border Roads Organisation has been working to either restore the sunken portion or build a viable alternative. For now the apples are being transported out via trains, i.e., the boxes are routed to nearby railway stations, picked up by freight trains, and transported to the markets.

This morning fruit from an additional 1,200 trucks were moved out. The Railways has said an estimated 2,000 tons of apples, or nearly 1.26 lakh boxes, have been shifted so far.

The losses from this crisis have already been estimated at crores.

Meanwhile, the continuing blockage on the highway has adversely affected daily life in the Valley, with petroleum products, including diesel and LPG, having become difficult to obtain.

In fact, petrol pumps have started running dry and LPG dealers have warned customers of shortages. In addition, poultry products, including chickens and eggs, are being sold at exorbitant rates while vegetable prices skyrocket with each passing day.

With input from agencies

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.