PDP workers, farmers detained in Shopian protest over crop insurance

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) workers and several farmers were detained in Shopian district of southern Kashmir on Sunday during a protest against the Jammu & Kashmir government’s alleged failure to implement the crop insurance scheme.

Former PDP legislator Ajaz Ahmad Mir from Wachi area of Shopian had called upon party workers and farmers to gather for a protest in the town. Mir said that he was placed under house arrest for the whole day on Sunday and many party members and farmers were not allowed to reach the town and join the protest.

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PDP workers and some farmers assembled at Shopian town and raised slogans against the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government for failing to implement the scheme.

They claimed that climate change, heavy rainfall and hailstorms had severely damaged the horticulture and agriculture crops across the Valley, especially in the Shopian district, which is one of the main apple producers.

“I was placed under house arrest and they had sealed all the roads leading to Shopian town. We just demand that the government should identify an insurance company which can offer crop insurance. Farmers will pay on their own. But they are not able to even do that,” Mir told ET.

He said the Shopian area alone has witnessed more than 50 extreme weather events since the start of 2026. “Hailstorms have wreaked havoc in our area. We also want the government to provide anti-hail nets on subsidy,” he said.

A farmer from Shopian, Khursheed Ahmad, said the government should facilitate insurance of apple and cherry crops to cover losses due to unforeseen weather events.

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The protestors carried placards against the government stating “victims of hailstorms seek justice”.

Police had asked the protestors to disperse peacefully as they did not have the permission for the event, but the protestors refused to disperse, following which the police detained several protestors. All of them were released in the evening, said officials.

“A farmer asking for insurance is not a threat to peace. It is a cry for survival. Apple and cherry growers deserve crop insurance and subsidies for hail nets to protect Kashmir’s agro-economy... silencing farmers will not save their crops or their livelihoods,” PDP legislator Waheed Para wrote in a post on X.

The PDP leader said the overwhelming participation of farmers had once again demonstrated that the demand for a crop insurance scheme for apples and cherries was not an individual’s issue but the collective voice of thousands of growers across the region. “The protesters also demanded full compensation for farmers affected by recent hailstorms and other natural calamities,” he added.