Amid a crisis over thousands of tonnes of apple rotting in stranded trucks along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to allow held-up trucks to move towards Jammu tonight so that they can take the apples to mandis in different parts of country. A statement said 4,000 trucks will be cleared tonight. These trucks are stranded after the traffic police stopped them for over a week. Fruit-growers say more than 8,000 trucks carrying perishable fruit were stopped and left to rot along the highway. At…
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Due highway halts truckloads of apples start to rot before deliveries
Roadworks have halted thousands of trucks carrying millions of dollars worth of apples on Indian Kashmir’s main highway, a major union leader said on Monday, triggering protests by growers as their produce begins to rot. Highway repairs were causing massive delays along the highway that connects the disputed Kashmir valley to the rest of India, meaning huge expected losses. “We have 8,000 trucks carrying apples worth 100 crore rupees (one billion rupees, or about $12.25 million) stranded on the highway for the last two weeks,” Bashir Ahmad Basheer, the head…
Read MoreStefan & Theresa; World touring couple finds Kashmir Safe, Beautiful with Hospitable People
Travelling around the globe, Stefan Ublinger and his wife, Theresa are currently in Kashmir and the couple say that the place is safe for visitors. Using eco-friendly travelling mode, bicycles, the couple is on a whirlwind tour of the world. Ublinger and his wife put up a short film on YouTube in which they talk about Kashmir, its beautiful places and its hospitable people. “We are happy to be here because the landscape is so amazing and the people are so nice and hospitable.” “We did not know till we…
Read MoreInflation: LPG price hiked by Rs 50; Rates up by Rs 244 in one year
Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the eighth increase in rates in the last one year that took the cumulative rise to Rs 244. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 1,003 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Firming international energy prices have led to non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices being increased on eight occasions in the past year. In all, rates have gone up by Rs 244 per cylinder…
Read MoreHighway Curbs: Fruit growers protest at Sopore mandi over halting of trucks on national highway
Fruit growers at the Asia’s largest fruit mandi, Sopore, today held a protest against the forces for stopping their fruit-laden trucks on the national highway resulting in damage to the fruit. Since the start of Amarnath Yatra, fruit traders alleged that not only trucks are stopped but drivers are also harassed. For the past many days, the growers from the Valley have been dispatching early varieties and stone fruit trucks to various fruit mandis across the country. Sopore fruit mandi president Fayaz Ahmad Malik, alias Kakaji, who was leading the…
Read MoreYatra restrictions hit Kashmir Tourism; TAAK stopped promoting Kashmir outside J&K
Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) has taken strong note of the harassment and problems being faced by the locals, leisure, adventure, and tourists in view of the security arrangements for the Amarnath Yatra. In a statement to news agency Kashmir News Trust, TAAK President Farooq Ahmed Kuthoo said many tourists have got stuck on highways due to severe restrictions on the movement of non-yatri tourists. Not only have such restrictions put the general tourists to a lot of inconveniences but the travel agents outside JK have stopped promoting Kashmir…
Read MoreUndeterred, tourists continue to swarm Kashmir
Targeted killings of non-Kashmiris and Kashmiri Pandits have failed to dampen the spirit of tourists who continue to throng the scenic valley giving a strong rebuff to those trying to disturb the peace. A report by Sunny Sharma. As against about 7 lakh tourists who visited in 2021, the Kashmir valley has seen over 8 Lakh tourists bewitched by its enchanting beauty between January and May 2022. What does this indicate? The Director, Tourism, Kashmir, G.N. Itoo said that the department has started promoting all the seasons in Kashmir. Itoo…
Read MoreSrinagar to Panchtarni: GoI planning third chopper route for Amarnath Pilgrims
The Centre is contemplating to start a new helicopter service from Srinagar to Panchtarni, which is the last drop-off point for pilgrims visiting holy cave shrine Amarnath, in addition to the two already existing chopper routes for the pilgrimage, officials said. The move came in view of the anticipated rush of the pilgrims to the shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva located at an altitude of 3,888 metres in the upper reaches of Himalaya in Jammu and Kashmir. The pilgrimage is scheduled to begin on June 30 and will continue for…
Read MoreDos & Don’ts: Administration issues guidelines for Amarnath Yatra Pilgrims
While specifying precautionary measures, Principal Secretary to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Nitishwar Kumar said that devotees should go on a morning walk, do breathing exercises, must keep their warm clothes, food items and keep themselves hydrated. Ahead of the commencement of the 43-day-long annual Amarnath pilgrimage, Jammu and Kashmir administration issued the dos and don’ts for the pilgrims urging them to “go on a morning walk daily and practice breathing exercises” to keep oneself fit at the high altitudes. While specifying precautionary measures, Principal Secretary to Jammu…
Read MoreShawl Weaving to Paper Mache: Craft safaris attract tourists in Kashmir
Tourists have started showing a keen interest in craft safaris in the old city areas. Tour operators have started receiving specific inquiries for craft safaris from the tourists. “This is a completely new dimension of Kashmir tourism. We have already received groups from Surat, Jaipur, and Mumbai and more groups are coming shortly. The Handicrafts Department had earlier conducted a dry run of sorts for locals but thanks to the media coverage and social media buzz, craft safaris have started attracting tourists,” Javid Amin, travel consultant and proprietor of ‘JKL Travels’…
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