ANANTNAG/SHOPIAN: On 4 March 2024, Muzafar Ahmad Malik, a 42-year-old apple grower from Shopian district in south Kashmir, was lying on a bed in the government district hospital, recovering from a heart condition and agonising about the government’s plan to build a railway line that would subsume his 10 kanal (one acre) orchard.
“It was not the fear of death that had brought my abuji to tears, but the impending death of our way of life, the lifeblood of our land,” said Mehvish Muzafar, Malik’s daughter, recalling the incident a month later.
“For generations, our hands have worked these trees, and now they want to replace them with tracks. Our sweat and toil mean nothing to them,” she said. “Seeing orchards destroyed for tracks and roads feels like our lives are being destroyed too.”
Malik’s wife said the earnings from their apple orchard paid for his medication and the education of their four daughters.
“If the government proceeds with the rail line construction through our land, where will we go?” she said.
With 75% of India’s apple production coming from Kashmir, the industry contributes 10% to Jammu and Kashmir’s gross domestic product and employs 3.5 million people, 23.35% of the population.
This story was originally published in article-14. Read the full story here.
