Kashmir’s apple season was our economic heartbeat. But the recent events have inflicted a lethal blow to the industry which hab been hit not by a bad harvest or ugly weather but by a chain of logistical failures that demand urgent and comprehensive economic intervention. The prolonged closures of the Srinagar–Jammu highway during the peak of this year’s harvest halted movement at the very moment apples needed to reach markets, leaving truckloads stranded, crates rotting and growers ruined. The highway reopened only in mid-September after alternating traffic arrangements were restored, but that relief came too late for many. The outcome has been painful. Farmers are reporting wholesale rates collapsing to roughly half of last year — with a 15-kg box now fetching as little as ₹500–700 as compared with typical returns of ₹1,200–1,400. In other markets, cartons that normally sell for ₹700–1,200 are going for ₹300–700. Freight has become the other hammer: transport costs per box have reportedly jumped from around ₹100 to as high as 250 as due to longer routes via Mughal Road. This squeeze — lower farmgate prices plus higher logistics costs — has made even recovering freight impossible. The scale of the damage is huge in consequence. Multiple media reports place losses in the hundreds of crores with estimates ranging from roughly ₹1,200 crore to as high as ₹1,500–2,000 crore in immediate damage and lost value, due to painful highway interruptions earlier in September. These are not numbers only. Orchardists in Anantnag, Budgam, Pulwama, Baramulla and Shopian tell a poignant story of a year of investment in grafting, sprays, labour and packaging wiped out in days; truck drivers saw loads rot under tarpaulins along with packers and small traders. Reports suggest that as much as 60–65% of the crop remains unsold in some districts, a calamity for families that depend on horticulture as their primary income. This is not merely a short-term cashflow problem. Repeated disruptions — floods, landslides and highway closures — also erode buyer confidence, weaken price discovery and push markets toward cheaper imports or alternate suppliers. The Centre and UT administration must therefore move beyond ad-hoc measures. A meaningful package should be announced which includes immediate direct compensation for verified losses; subsidised freight and refrigerated movement including support for parcel trains and subsidised cold chain logistics and crop-loss loans. The government should also invest in long-term and resilient transport corridors and cold storage chains. The country had valued the horticultural livelihoods of Kashmir and the food security and heritage they support. The government must act now with a targeted economic package that treats the apple season as an urgent national priority, not a recurring and poignant crisis.