This winter, Kashmir saw a bumper snowfall that caused significant and massive disruptions in normal life. Apart from closing down the only, all-weather road link connecting the Valley with the rest of the world, the chill accompanying the snow brought down temperature to record levels. The winter was also long and extended by many weeks. The first snowfall hit the Valley in November, for the first time in many years, and it has been continuously snowing on and off till March. The abundance of rain and snowfall has replenished the mountains and glaciers surrounding the Valley of Kashmir and our rich water resources will be flowing with full strength in coming weeks and months. Interestingly, with the arrival of spring, the apple orchards are witnessing a heavy blossom, signalling that the abundance of rain and snowfall may result in a bumper crop. If all goes well, there are expectations that this year is going to bring some very good news for farmers and orchardists. But in times when the authorities have decided to shut down the Srinagar-Jammu highway for two days in a week due to security concerns, what will be its impact on the community of farmers involved in agriculture and horticulture sectors? The overriding security concerns seem to have cast a dark shadow on the export of goods, especially apples and pears, from Kashmir to the rest of the country. The business community has already warned that the highway ban is going to damage the economy of Kashmir badly and if it continues to remain enforced, it will have debilitating impact on the people who are involved in trade of goods as well as the poor farmers for whom the annual yield from their orchards sustains their families and provides for the education of their children. In these circumstances, the authorities need to rethink the highway ban. According to some reports, the decision has been taken in haste and even the J&K Police, Army and paramilitary forces are not in favour of the decision to curtail civilian movement on the highway. The decision has apparently been taken by one section of bureaucracy in Jammu and Kashmir without showing regard to the Raj Bhawan. The anti-people decision has evoked a massive uproar across Kashmir. Mainstreamers have hit the roads demanded revocation of the ban even as ordinary people continue to suffer. For the larger good, the government must rethink the decision.