A video of a Kashmiri apple farmer desperately removing mounds of snow from his annual crop has gone viral on social media. In the video, a Kashmiri farmer is seen crying out aloud after seeing his crop being destroyed by the valley’s first snowfall.
Posting the video, All India Kisan Sabha, India’s largest farmers’ body, wrote that the snowfall had caused a total loss of Rs 1,000 crore in the region. It tweeted, “Heart wrenching video from Kashmir. A young farmer is seen grieving loss of his crop. Inconsolable he is seen uncovering ripe apples & branches of trees buried under mounds of snow. Kisan Tehreek (affiliated to AIKS) estimates losses of over 1000 crores. Compensate farmers!”
Heart wrenching video from Kashmir. A young farmer is seen grieving loss of his crop. Inconsolable he is seen uncovering ripe apples & branches of trees buried under mounds of snow. Kisan Tehreek (affiliated to AIKS) estimates losses of over 1000 crores. Compensate farmers! pic.twitter.com/A31PShD2Ni
— AIKS (@KisanSabha) November 5, 2018
The video has struck a chord with netizens, many of whom have demanded that government compensate this farmer.
Sad to see this video from Keller in Shopian of South Kashmir. This is a farmer who owns an Apple orchard. Fresh heavy snowfall covered his entire orchard in white but also ruined the fresh produce of apples that were left in open. He is crying his heart out while removing snow. pic.twitter.com/LaFdrWopBB
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) November 4, 2018
Compensate. https://t.co/wgv9HrU5V7
— Sagrika Kissu (@SagrikaKissu) November 5, 2018
Very sad. I hope he will get some compensation. Most of the crop of apples have been harvested but I saw heaps of it rotting at the market points. It struck me that there should be much more processing units for squashes, juices, jams, vinegar, dehydrated slices…
— kaveri (@ikaveri) November 4, 2018
Kashmir had experienced its first snowfall on 3 November. While the snowfall is often a good news for the state as it brings tourists from around the country, this year’s early change in the weather has caught farmers in the valley by surprise.