Ganderbal, Sept 16: Farmers in Wakura Tehsil of Ganderbal district, a region known for its horticulture sector, are facing severe hardships as the apple harvesting season peaks. The majority of residents depend on horticulture for their livelihood, but repeated closures of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway have left fruit-laden trucks stranded, causing heavy damage and losses running into crores. Growers also complained about fake pesticides in the market, unregulated prices, and the absence of proper marketing infrastructure. They appealed to the government to regulate pesticide prices and introduce market facilities to safeguard the interests of orchardists. Farmers further urged the government to run additional train services to ease transportation and demanded that the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway be kept open during the peak harvesting season. “Due to the closure of the highway, our fruits have started to get damaged. If we had cold storage facilities, apples would have lasted longer. Unfortunately, government support has not reached the ground,” said one of the local farmers. The crisis has cast a shadow over Kashmir’s apple industry, which is the backbone of the region’s horticulture sector. Employing lakhs of people and contributing thousands of crores to the economy, the industry was already struggling with transport bottlenecks and rising input costs. Farmers fear that if the fruit fall persists, the valley’s apple output—and their livelihoods—will take another severe hit this year. Byte1:-Farmer Abdul Rehman. Byte2:-Farmer _Mushtaq. Byte3:-Farmer _Zahid. Byte4;-Farmer _Fayaz. Byte5:-President Fruit and Vegetables Mandi Zazna Ganderbal _Manzoor Bhat.