MULTAN, Dec 4: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has expressed concern over the rising incidence of theft of lint cotton during its transportation from ginneries to the spinning and textile mills.

At a press conference on Wednesday, PCGA chairman Seth Jaitha Nand Kohistani said highway robberies of lint cotton were increasing day by day in the Punjab and Sindh.

Citing an incident, he said, a trawler set off for Faisalabad from the Murtaza Cotton Factory of Kutcha Khoh, Khanewal, on Nov 19 last. Near Feroze Wattowa area in Samundri tehsil, robbers plundered lint cotton worth Rs3 million. However, the buyer, Nishat Group, refused to compensate the factory as a result of which the factory owner had to wind up his business, said the PCGA chief.

He alleged that the relevant police did not go beyond mere registration of a case.

He said Faisalabad, Jhang, Samundri, Abdul Hakeem and Feroze Wattowa were the worst affected areas in this regard. “Ginners cannot be held responsible for the safety of the consignment once it exits from the gates of ginneries,” he said, adding “the consignments are uploaded in trawlers by the representatives of the textile millers after a deal is struck.”

Besides, the consignments of sugar, wheat flour and its other byproducts were also targets of highwaymen. He urged upon the provincial administrations to take stock of the situation without delay.

Talking about other issues, Seth Jaitha alleged that the sales tax department was sealing ginning factories and issuing them notices of fine in Sindh for defaults committed by the textile mills.

He also demanded the Wapda authorities that they should charge seasonal rates from the ginning factories for four months instead of six months.