Govt trucks sent back empty

With the fruit growers threatening to march to Muzaffarabad on Monday with their produce, the Government on Sunday lined up 96 trucks at Sopore fruit mandi 8212; the country8217;s second largest 8212; to help them transport the fruits. However, the growers refused to load their produce in the vehicles. 8220;We have no faith in the Government as they don8217;t care for us,8221; said the mandi8217;s General Secretary, Ghulam Mohammad Malik. Police have been deputed in and outside the fruit mandi that is becoming the focal point of the march. Area Marketing Officer, Sopore Mandi, Fayaz Ahmad said the growers had suffered heavy losses since the disruption of the highway. Every year around two crore fruit boxes are dispatched to different fruit markets of the country from this mandi. Since the protests began, say growers, they have lost Rs 500 crore. Fruit selling is Kashmir8217;s largest trade, with three million people directly or indirectly associated with it.