Snowfall In Kashmir Damages Apple Orchards, Cripples Life

Heavy snowfall over the past 36 hours has caused massive damage to apple trees as life was thrown out of gear in the Kashmir Valley for the second day on Friday.

The valley remained cut off from the rest of the country since Thursday as both surface and air traffic remained suspended due to snowfall.

The Srinagar-Jammu and Srinagar-Leh highways have been closed for traffic as all flights to and from the Srinagar international airport were also canceled yesterday.

Till last reports came in, flight operations from the Srinagar airport were yet to be restored. Traffic department officials said-Jammu highway will remain closed on Friday as snow clearing operations are underway.

Reports from Baramulla, Kupwara and Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama and Anantnag districts said foliage laden apple trees have extensively been damaged in these districts.

In the higher reaches of the Shopian district, the damage to apple trees has been more severe as the fruit was still on the trees when snowfall hit the orchards on Thursday.

Officials have admitted that most apple orchards in the valley have suffered damage because of the heavy snowfall during the last two days.

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