Shimla, June 17 -- A major uproar has erupted among apple growers in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir following a recommendation by NITI Aayog to the central government to either significantly reduce or completely abolish import duties on agricultural produce from the United States, including apples and nuts.

Farmers' groups in the Himalayan states are furious, calling the suggestion an existential threat to their livelihoods.

Harish Chauhan, convener of the Himachal Pradesh Sanyukt Kisan Manch, in a conversation with ANI, issued a sharp warning and said that it will be a death warrant for apple growers.

"If the central government accepts this recommendation, it will be nothing less than a death warrant for apple grow...