A heart-wrenching video of a sobbing apple farmer from Kashmir has gone viral, as the state grapples with steep losses to its orchards because of early snow.
The video shows an unnamed Kashmiri farmer sobbing uncontrollably as he desperately tries to retrieve his produce from under heaps of snow.
Sir plz see this heart wrenching video, massive damage due to snow in south #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/DufDmZgm8S
— Umar Ganie (@UmarGanie1) November 4, 2018
The video, representative of farmers’ grief across the valley, went viral on social media.
The state’s former chief minister Omar Abdullah retweeted the video with a caption that said: “This man’s spirits are completely crushed. His apple crop awaiting packing is buried under the snow & all his efforts over the summer, his investment in tree oil & other treatments has been for nothing. It’s no wonder he’s weeping the way he is.”
This man’s spirits are completely crushed. His apple crop awaiting packing is buried under the snow & all his efforts over the summer, his investment in tree oil & other treatments has been for nothing. It’s no wonder he’s weeping the way he is. #tragic https://t.co/kUPAbl2xGa
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 4, 2018
Massive damage to apple trees. This will further cripple an economy that is already distressed. I request @jandkgovernor to instruct the administration to assess the damage & ensure adequate compensation to the horticulturalists who have been affected. pic.twitter.com/GXfVp0CneV
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 4, 2018
Although there are no official estimates of the losses, early snow is likely to have destroyed several crores worth of the produce in the state this season. Autumn snowfall plunged the Valley plunged in darkness, cutting it off from the rest of the country and catching the administration off guard.
