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Kashmir growers fear for their fruit in pilgrimage traffic jams

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Hundreds of thousands of people come through IOJK to visit shrine in Himalayan cave for Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage.
Security is tighter after Indian police claimed last week they had uncovered plot to attack pilgrims.
Fruit-laden trucks were stranded as security forces held up traffic to check for threats.

SRINAGAR: Fruit growers in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) said on Monday they were facing huge losses as truck-loads of apples, pears and other produce got caught up in traffic jams caused by a security crackdown during an annual Hindu pilgrimage.

Hundreds of thousands of people come through the region to visit a shrine in a Himalayan cave for the Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage.

Numbers are even higher this year, as the event was shut down in 2021 during the pandemic — and security is tighter after police claimed last week they had uncovered a plot to attack pilgrims.

Fruit-laden trucks were stranded as security forces held up traffic to check for threats, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, from the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Union, told Reuters.

“Freshly harvested plums, peaches, pears and apples need to be transported outside Kashmir or else they may rot in this heat and we will face heavy losses,” he said.

An Indian forces official Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, acknowledged there was a problem and said the Indian government was working on plans to ease traffic.

“Trucks will only be stopped when pilgrims travel on the highway and trucks loaded with perishables won’t face any inconvenience,” he told reporters.

Indian soldiers carrying automatic assault rifles and wearing flak jackets have been out guarding roads since the Hindu pilgrimage began in the Muslim-majority region in June.

“Pilgrims are our guests but our trucks should not be stopped,” orchard owner Ghulam Mohammad Malik told Reuters.

He said farmers and traders would together face losses of 30 million Indian rupees ($380,000) per day if congestion did not ease.

Fruit cultivation is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy, and gives work to about 3 million people, according to the growers union.

During the pilgrimage, Hindus cross glaciers and waterlogged trails to reach the mountain cave which contains an ice stalagmite that is considered a physical manifestation of a Hindu god, Lord Shiva.

The cave is covered in snow for most of the year, but authorities let pilgrims visit it for 45 days over the summer as rising temperatures clear the passes.

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Lahore, PP-161: LHC deems the ECP recounting order null and invalid

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Farrukh Javed, the victorious candidate, filed a petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order to recount the votes in PP-161 before a single bench of the high court, led by Justice Shahid Karim, was formed.

The bench dismissed the ECP’s order to recount the votes in the constituency and accepted the petition.

The PML-N candidate Umar Sohail filed a petition for a vote recount with the electoral commission, according to Unmute Farrukh Javed MPA’s court plea.

Per the petitioner, the electoral commission issued a notice of vote recount after granting the second-place candidate’s request.

In his view, the election process was not yet over when the ECP issued the order for a vote recount.

The ECP’s order for the recounting of ballots in provincial constituency PP-161 was revoked by the bench after it allowed the petition.

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The LHC has issued a summons regarding the policy on wheat procurement.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The court was considering a petition filed by the Punjab farmers challenging the province government’s decision to decline purchasing wheat from them.

The petitioner alleged that the government is legally obligated to procure wheat from farmers at the designated price and had publicised a policy to purchase wheat from farmers at Rs 3,900 per maund. However, the government has failed to put this policy into effect.

The Punjab government was scheduled to commence the procurement of wheat from farmers on April 22. However, there has been no progress thus far in the wheat purchase, thereby exposing farmers to the risk of selling their harvests at reduced prices as a result of rainfall.

The petitioner implored the court to mandate the government’s procurement of wheat from farmers and to initiate measures against the mafia.

Punjab farmers have filed a petition with the Lahore High Court (LHC) to challenge the government’s decision to not purchase their wheat.

Following an initial hearing on the case, Justice Shahid Karim, the judge of the LHC, requested a documentation of the Punjab government’s choices pertaining to wheat purchase.

Punjab’s farmers are currently protesting the government’s decision to postpone the purchase of wheat from them.

Yesterday, insiders from the Food Department disclosed that the Punjab government has not yet made a decision regarding the procurement of wheat.

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Lahore experiences a winter-like ambiance following rainfall.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Lahore’s maximum temperature has significantly decreased due to recent rainfall in the province capital over the past 24 hours.

Jail Road saw a rainfall of 8.5 millimeters, Gulberg received 10 millimeters, and Lakshmi Chowk received 14 millimeters of rainfall. In addition, Upper Mall received a rainfall measurement of 5 millimeters, Mughalpura received 3.5 millimeters, and Tajpura received 3 millimeters.

In addition, Nishtar Town received a rainfall of 1 millimeter, Pani Wala Talab received 12 millimeters, Farukh Abad received 4 millimeters, Gulshan Ravi received 20 millimeters, Iqbal Town received 6 millimeters, Samanabad received 8 millimeters, and Johar Town received 1 millimeter.

The city’s electricity transmission infrastructure has been significantly affected by the rain, resulting in the tripping of over 100 Lesco feeders. Multiple localities had power outages as a result of tripped feeders and other technical malfunctions.

Power outages have resulted in substantial discomfort for people in several localities, including as Manawan, Batapur, Sabzazar, Gulshan Ravi, Samanabad, Pir Nasir, Mughalpura, Shalimar, Mustafa Abad, Baghbanpura, Ferozpur Road, Islampura, Qila Gujjar Singh, and Walton Road.