Deep freeze in the Valley

An untested game plan Kashmir is in deep freeze for an indefinite time, says the author

In the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness Kashmir has already gone into deep freeze.  This is the month when the rich bounty of the Valley’s orchards is ready for picking, to be crated and transported over the next few weeks. Kashmir produces about 75 per cent of apples in the country, a crop of 17.5 lakh tonnes that is a keystone of the local economy employing 3.5 million people. This autumn, with few trucks in sight, the fruit harvest—including pears, plums, apricots and cherries — is piling up in the mandis of Sopore and Shopian and will soon begin