Congress party has blamed the State Government for being insensitive to the concerns of the apple farmers.

Addressing media persons on Monday, Congress General Secretary Rajneesh Kimta said that the apple season is in full swing, however, the state government is in a state of deep slumber, oblivious of the problems faced by the farmers of the district, who are dependent on the apple crop for their livelihood.

The deplorable condition of link roads in district Shimla is affecting apple transportation to the markets, he blamed, demanding restoration of the same.

“Due to the monsoon season many places in the district have faced landslides especially the link roads connecting the rural areas. Trucks loaded with apple boxes have to wait for long hours making it difficult to transport the apples to the markets. This is causing them losses,” he said.

The farmers have already suffered damages to the apple crop owing to snowfall in the month of March and now transportation woes, owing to poor road conditions has added to their problems.

The state government had promised compensation to the affected people due to the snow disaster earlier this year which amounted to total losses of more than 200 crore, but nothing has been done so far to compensate them, he said, adding that the assurances of the government have turned out to be another gimmick.

The farmers are already suffering, the central government has decreased the import duty of apples from 55 per cent to 20 per cent, which is directly affecting the sale of Indian apples, he said, accusing both the governments at the centre and the state of their anti-farmer policies.

Furthermore, the input in maintaining apple orchards is increasing day by day and the government has also stopped the subsidies on fertiliser which is a faulty decision, he charged, adding that an increase in 60 per cent to 300 per cent rates of fertilisers and insecticides, hike in rates of trays and cartons has caused an additional burden to the horticulturists and apple farmers.

Kimta, expressing concern over the rise in Covid-19 cases in Himachal, said that the state government is again taking the situation lightly and the preparedness for the 3rd wave is not up to the mark.