ADILABAD: The purchase of cotton from farmers at the Adilabad market yard commenced on Friday following a delay of almost five hours. Protests by farmers and refusal by traders to purchase cotton created a tense atmosphere in the market. Adilabad BJP MLA Payal Shankar and Additional Collector Shyamala Devi intervened and engaged in discussions with officials and traders.The market was closed on Thursday, and with the onset of the festive season of Sankranti, a considerable number of farmers arrived with their cotton produce, bringing around 2,500 vehicles to the market yard.
Although the scheduled start time for cotton purchase was 8 am, it did not commence until the afternoon. Concerned, the farmers staged a protest in front of the market yard office. They claimed that the cotton had been brought from far-away places to the market yard early in the morning and demanded additional charges for the waiting time. They also demanded government intervention in the cotton purchase process.
On the other hand, the traders, citing a shortage of lorries, refused to make purchases, stating an inability to clear the storage of cotton from the ginning industries. Raju Chintawar, the president of the Cotton Traders Association, highlighted the consistent increase in transportation prices via lorry over the last three years by lorry owners, regardless of fluctuations in diesel prices. This time, the increase was Rs 4,000, making transportation from Adilabad to Guntur cost Rs 41,000 without loading charges.
Chintawar said that the increased prices directly burdened the farmers, as the stock value of cotton remained stagnant due to a lack of lorries for transportation. Upon learning of the issue, Adilabad MLA Payal Shankar and Additional Collector Shyamala Devi visited the market yard and held discussions with the traders and protesting farmers. They urged both the lorry association and ginning industrialists to bring any problems to the notice of the administration and the state government and said that the farmers should not suffer.