September 14, 2025

Kashmir, famously called the “apple bowl of India,” is reeling from a severe blow this year. The region's horticulture, a lifeline for about 3.5 million people and the backbone of a whopping ₹10,000 crore industry, is battered by continuous rains and devastating floods. Normally, late August through October is a busy festival of apple harvesting, with crates shipped far and wide in India and abroad. But this year, it’s been a nightmare. Unending rains drenched the lush orchards and floods swallowed big patches of farmland. The appletrees suffered as waterlogging forced apples to rot or drop too soon. There’s also a dark worry that the standing water will harm the roots, threatening the trees’ health for seasons to come. To add to trouble, the only major National Highway connecting Kashmir to Jammu and the rest of India shut down for around nine days due to landslides. Thousands of trucks heavy with apples were stuck, turning some loads rotten and causing losses estimated between ₹500 crore to ₹700 crore according to fruit traders. But hope came rolling on rails! The Union Railway Minister announced the launch of the first goods train from Budgam, Kashmir, to New Delhi, starting September 13. This dedicated fruit train, leaving on September 15, will take just 23 hours to deliver apples safely. Fruit growers started loading their precious cargo on September 11 and 12. Traders praised the railway move but urged for more trains and extra coaches since only eight are assigned now — definitely not enough for this giant apple wave. The floods and blocked highway have threatened the livelihoods of countless farming families and shaken the local economy. Yet, as shining apple trucks stood next to railway parcel vans at Budgam Railway Station, the first train service glimmered as a ray of hope. Can this golden fruit journey save Kashmir’s apple treasure and the people’s dreams? Only time will tell. Photo credits: Imran Nissar - Wasted effort: Apples lie scattered in flooded orchards even as farmers try hard to salvage what they can. - Fallen hope: Growers gather spoiled fruit after endless waterlogged days. - Bitter harvest: Apple growers traverse submerged orchards in Pulwama, 55 km from Srinagar. - Muddy season: Apples hang smeared with mud from branches. - In peril: Floods caused many apples to rot or drop early. - Some relief: Police inspect apple boxes being loaded onto railway vans at Budgam. - Stranded produce: Truckers separate rotten apples stuck along the Srinagar-Jammu highway. - Major loss: Rotten apples discarded by truck drivers at Qazigund. - Fruit on the move: Apple trucks and railway parcel vans wait together as Indian Railways starts daily fruit train service. - Awaiting dispatch: Launch of daily parcel trains to Delhi offers huge relief; each van carries 23 tonnes of apples. Published on September 14, 2025, 11:14 am IST

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Tags: Kashmir horticulture, Apple crop loss, Flood damage, Apple exports, Railway fruit train, Road closure,