SAD chief seeks PM's intervention to ensure cotton procurement at MSP

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure that cotton should be procured at the minimum support price (MSP) in Punjab.

In a statement here, the SAD president said it was shocking that instead of giving the MSP of Rs 6,920 a quintal for long-staple cotton, as was done earlier, the Cotton Corporation of India imposed a quality cut of Rs 150 and was giving the assured price of Rs 6,770 per quintal to farmers.

Farmers in the Abohar belt were suffering because the CCI was procuring the produce in bits and spurts, he claimed.

The procurement was stopped on November 30 and restarted on December 7 only, he said, adding that it again stopped on December 9.

Badal said the repeated stoppage of procurement was forcing farmers to sell their crops to private players who were purchasing the produce in the price range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,200 per quintal.

Farmers were forced to go in for distress sale as they could neither transport their produce long distances nor store it, Badal pointed out.

Out of nearly 3.50 lakh quintals of cotton arrived in the market, the CCI procured only one lakh quintals.

He urged the Prime Minister to issue necessary instructions to ensure uninterrupted and smooth procurement of cotton.

He also appealed that farmers be given the MSP of Rs 6,920 per quintal.