Farmers’ Harvest Rots, Tourism Ruined as Highways Remain Cut Off, Nakul Khullar Urges PM to Declare Himachal a National Disaster State
SHIMLA/KULLU: Farmers across Himachal Pradesh are staring at ruin as their freshly harvested apples and vegetables rot in orchards and trucks stranded on blocked highways for the fifth straight day.
The devastation caused by recent floods and cloudbursts in Kullu–Manali, Chamba, Shimla, Kinnaur, and other districts has crippled connectivity, leaving growers helpless in the middle of the peak apple season.
Award of Excellence recipient and noted horticulturist–hotelier Nakul Khullar has now appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately declare Himachal Pradesh a National Disaster State and release urgent relief funds.
In his appeal, Khullar also reached out to Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda, former CM Jairam Thakur and former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, pressing for a special package for the hill state.
“Roads, bridges, homes and businesses lie in ruins. Farmers are losing their crops every passing hour. The damage has not just hit horticulture and tourism but also the livelihood of thousands of families,” Khullar said.
The situation is dire in Kullu, Manali, and upper Shimla, where trucks loaded with apples and vegetables have been stuck on highways buried under landslides.
Many growers said they had no option but to dump produce rotting in their orchards. “A year’s hard work is getting wasted before our eyes. Even if the roads open, the market won’t take half-rotten fruit,” lamented a grower.
Khullar urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri to restore road connectivity at war footing. “If the supply chain is not revived quickly, the year-long effort of farmers will be ruined,” he warned.
Calling tourism and horticulture the lifeline of Himachal, Khullar stressed that these are “not just local sectors but national assets” that demand the Centre’s immediate intervention.
“With faith in our deities, I am confident that Himachal will rise again with full glory,” he added, while appealing to the people to stand united in the crisis.
Vidhan Sabha has passed resolution urging the Modi government at the center to declare Himachal as National Disaster State as the disasters have hit Himachal for the third time in row. They Vidhan Sabha has sought immediate release of special economic package for Himachal to bail it out from the disaster of vast magnitude.
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