SAINJ/SHIMLA/SOLAN, JULY 4: As the apple season is set to begin, the horticulture lifeline connecting the rich apple belt of Shimla district with markets outside the state has turned into a nightmare, exposing what growers and transporters describe as the government's complete neglect of critical farm infrastructure.
What's pitiful is the fact that PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh and for that CM Sukhu and others have turned themselves into the Facebook Ministers.
So is the case with the Opposition leaders who remain confined to Facebook and other social media platforms in reels and in natis figuring in videos not raising voice of the farmers facing rough roads in the apple belt.
The Sanja–Balag–Shillabagh–Solan–Kumarhatti–Chandigarh horticulture road, the main artery for the movement of apples, is riddled with potholes, craters and broken stretches, making every journey slow, expensive and risky.
The road serves as the main lifeline for thousands of apple-laden trucks and pick-up vehicles carrying produce from the apple-growing regions of Chopal, Kotkhai, Jubbal, Rohru, Theog, and nearby areas, as well as the Parala Fruit Mandi, to wholesale markets in Solan, Chandigarh and other destinations outside Himachal Pradesh.
Even the plight of the Chopal Sainj road remains poor mainly between Khirki and Chopal and between Kargoli and Deha.
Truck drivers say the stretch between Sanja and Shillabagh has deteriorated badly. Every trip now means bone-jarring rides, frequent vehicle breakdowns and soaring repair bills.
"Instead of carrying apples, we are carrying the burden of broken roads," remarked a transporter, blaming the authorities for ignoring repeated appeals.
Despite being one of Himachal Pradesh's most important horticulture corridors, growers say the road has been left to crumble.
Farmers allege that while the government speaks of strengthening horticulture and doubling farmers' income, the ground reality tells a different story.
Even basic maintenance has been ignored. Potholes remain unfilled months after last year's monsoon damage, while the long-promised widening work has yet to begin.
With the monsoon already setting in and apple arrivals expected to gather pace within days, transporters fear the road will become even more dangerous.
Delays in moving the highly perishable fruit could increase transportation costs, damage the produce and further squeeze growers already battling rising input costs and erratic weather.
Transporters and orchardists have urged the state government and the Public Works Department to immediately repair the damaged stretches before peak apple movement begins, warning that failure to act could turn Himachal's busiest horticulture corridor into a major bottleneck during the state's most crucial harvest season.
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