Traders said that the risk of rotting of the apples kept in the trucks has increased as the road has not been operational for three days.
What you should know
After a landslide occurred on the Surkhet-Jumla section of the Karnali highway, more than a dozen cargo trucks carrying apples from Jumla were stopped on the road.
As the road could not be opened for three days, the apprehension of rotting apples in trucks has increased. On the morning of August 14th, a landslide occurred in Gagnekhol. The road has not been opened yet. According to police station Nagm Kalikot, 20 trucks carrying apples have gone missing in three days. Those trucks could not be delivered to Surkhet-Nepalganj market due to a landslide on the road. Traders have said that the risk of apples rotting on the way has increased.
Apples are tastier this year than last year. Apple farmer Gopal Rokaya lamented that the road causes losses to farmers and traders every year.
On August 14th, 8 trucks, 11 trucks on the 15th and one truck on the 16th were loaded with 20 apples, according to the police. ASI Yam Sharma of the police station said that apples are loaded in every cargo vehicle going from Jumla. Harisinh Nepal, a trader, says that the risk of rotting increases after the apple carts get stuck on the road. 'Every year when we are exporting apples, we suffer from landslides on the road and heavy rains,' he said.
Kali Bahadur Rokaya, who took apples from Jumla, said that the current year is also suffering from landslides. He has taken 4 thousand kg of apples for sale. He said that it was difficult to deliver the apples to the market because they were stuck on the road for two days.
According to the District Agricultural Development Office, it is estimated that 13,000 metric tons of apples will be produced this year. About 500,000 apple plants have been damaged by hail. . 'It was seen that the price of apples would increase due to the low production of apples,' said farmer Rokaya, 'but it was seen that we had to bear the loss because we could not take them to the market on time.' Millions of dollars were lost due to rotten apples.
The road division office in Jumla has informed that preparations are being made for blasting to remove the landslide. Head of the office Dipendra Choudhary said that the stone did not break even after using breakers, so preparations were made for blasting. He said, "Now there is no situation to open the road without blasting." Blasting is being prepared in coordination with the Kalikot police administration and the army.'
The parliamentarians representing Jumla are pressing to create an environment where Jumli apples can be easily transported to the market by opening the road immediately. The apples of Jumla reach the markets of Surkhet, Nepalgunj, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Dhangadhi, Kailali, Chitwan and Butwal. This time, farmers have set a price of 70 rupees per kg in the garden. Apples are being cultivated in an area of 4,400 hectares in the district.
