This weekend, activists of CITU and Jammu Kashmir Apple Farmers Federation held a demonstration against the ‘anti-people, anti-worker and anti-farmer policies of the government’. Addressing the demonstration, CITU President Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami expressed serious concern over problems being faced by the common people: “Kashmir is facing its worst power crisis in the last two decades and is reeling under acute power shortages, with people facing extreme inconvenience due to long and unscheduled power cuts at a time when temperatures in the valley have dipped to sub-zero levels. “
He added that J&K is a direct victim of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT): “J&K is made to bear a recurring loss of billions of rupees annually besides limiting its 15,000 MW power generation potential,” Tarigami said, urging the central government to compensate for these losses.
Mohamad Afzal Parry, Kisan leader, demanded 100 percent import duty on foreign apples, provision of fertilizers and pesticides at subsidized rates to apple farmers and cold storage facility to apple producing districts. The crop Insurance scheme must be implemented at ground level under the supervision of the government, he said.
Source: greaterkashmir.com