Overview

• The Jammu–Srinagar highway has seen repeated landslide closures since late August, stranding about 4,000 apple-laden trucks near Qazigund with produce rotting, according to local officials.
• Growers shut fruit markets across Kashmir on Monday and Tuesday in protest, with preliminary loss estimates approaching $146 million and returns collapsing for damaged fruit.
• Manoj Sinha launched a Budgam–New Delhi parcel coach on September 15, but railway officials say its 23–24 tonne daily capacity offers minimal relief compared with the scale of the harvest.
• Nitin Gadkari said more than 50 earthmovers are working around the clock to reopen the route, and grower groups reported limited movement with roughly 10% of trucks departing on Tuesday.
• Traders in Jammu reported shipments taking up to two weeks to arrive with as much as 60% spoilage and steep price drops, highlighting risks to a sector that supplies most of India’s apples.