Shopian, Sep 11, KNT: Scores of truck drivers carrying fruit staged a protest near Circuit House Shopian on Mughal Road, demanding unhindered passage of their vehicles towards Poonch.
The protesting drivers said that despite an advisory stating that heavy motor vehicles would be allowed to ply freely on Thursday, hundreds of fruit-laden trucks remained stranded. They alleged that traffic police were permitting only a few trucks to move every two hours while keeping the rest halted.
“We have been stuck here for several days. Our fruit is perishable, and if we continue to remain stranded, it will rot inside the trucks,” the aggrieved drivers told the news agency Kashmir News Trust.
The plight of fruit-laden trucks stuck on Mughal Road is not new. Every harvest season, growers and transporters complain about delays caused by traffic restrictions and road closures.
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Apple growers in South Kashmir say that such disruptions cause huge financial losses, as the fruit begins to rot when kept inside trucks for long periods.
The truckers urged the administration and traffic authorities to ensure smooth and timely movement of vehicles on the Mughal Road to safeguard their livelihood and prevent huge losses to fruit growers. [KNT]
