HP: Unable to reach market due to road closures, 3 apple growers dump produce in stream

Shimla: Three apple growers in a village here told a local tehsildar that they have thrown several crates of apples into a stream as they were unable to reach the market to sell their produce due to the closure of roads following landslides.

In a purported video circulating on social media, a pickup truck can be seen parked on the roadside in Rohru town while a farmer dumps several crates of apples in a stream.

Daulat Ram, the up pradhan of Varal village, wrote to the tehsildar claiming that the Blasan-Chanri-Padsari road linking the village to the main road was closed since July 9 after heavy rains caused landslides.

About 68 crates of apples were thrown in a stream by three farmers, he said in the letter.

The video, shot on Saturday, invited the ire of opposition leaders and social media users following which, the road was opened on Sunday.

BJP spokesperson Chetan Bragta told PTI that several link roads in the state's apple belt are closed and the farmers are worried.

The transportation of apples would become a major issue in the coming days, he said, adding that collection centres used to be set up by government agencies by July 15 every year but this time no such facility is available.

No collection centres for apple growers and road blockages have made the lives of apple growers miserable, he added.

More than 400 roads across the state are closed for vehicular traffic and about 240 of them are in the Shimla zone comprising Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts, officials said.