BKU (Sidhupur) activists hold protest outside CCI office over procurement

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 21

Activists of the BKU (Sidhupur) on Monday staged a protest in front of the office of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), Bathinda, seeking the purchase of the cotton produce arriving in state mandis by the government. During the protest, the farmers raised slogans against the CCI management.

Scores of farmers from Bathinda, Barnala, Mansa and Fazilka participated in the protest, which was lead by senior vice-president Jasveer Singh Sidhupur. Addressing the protesters, BKU’s state general secretary Kaka Singh Kotra and Resham Singh Yatri said: “Private buyers are fleecing the farmers as government agencies are yet to purchase cotton arriving in various parts of the Malwa region.”

They also claimed that they had given many memorandums to deputy commissioners, demanding start of purchase of cotton produce by government agency. The cotton, which should ideally be fetching a minimum price of Rs 5,450 per quintal, is being purchased by private traders at Rs 4,800-5,000 per quintal. They demanded that the government should ask the CCI to initiate cotton purchase in the mandis.

Farmers also claimed that the government had recommended the farmers to grow cotton, but it did not ensure purchase by it or fix price for the crop due to which the farmers are facing losses. Moreover, it was serving the interests of traders. Baldev Singh Sandoha and Mukhtiar Singh said: “Farmers will not allow any multinational company to take their ancestral agricultural land.”

They also warned that if CCI officials don’t go to cotton markets and start the purchase, they will continue their protest. Farmers also claimed that though the government talked of diversification in view of the state’s declining water table, but those farmers who had shifted from paddy to cotton crop “are being given a raw deal”.

The farmers alleged that the Central and the state governments were hand in glove with the traders and arhtiyas due to which the government agencies were not buying the cotton crop. They said in the absence of any government support, they were forced to sell the crop at throwaway prices.

Farmer leaders Pargat Singh, Maluk Singh, Roop Singh, Surjit Singh, Ranjit Singh were among others who took part in the protest.