HYDERABAD, Oct 26: Cotton ginners of Sindh have appealed to the federal government to resolve the electricity crisis as they are threatened with financial losses due to non-utilisation of cotton that has been accumulated in their factories because of erratic power supply and breakdowns.

A meeting of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, Sindh chapter, was held at a local hotel here on Sunday which was presided over by Lal Chand.

The meeting made an impassioned appeal to the government to ensure proper supply of electricity to their factories where cotton stock had piled up in a huge quantity. The participants attributed the low prices of cotton to continued energy crisis that has hit the country very hard.

They said that since factories were not functioning properly, cotton ginning is not picking up pace while cost of labour was also increasing. In some cases the labourers had been laid-off, the meeting noted.

Mr Lal Chand suggested that in case cotton prices further dropped, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, (TCP) should intervene and purchase cotton from them so that they and the growers should not incur financial losses. He said that as cotton was not being utilised prices of the cash crop have nosedived.

Due to the current scenario, “labourers are losing their jobs”, Girdari Lal, a participant of the meeting, said.

He said that central chairman of the ginners association also spoke to them in the meeting over phone.

He denied that meeting gave any call for strike by ginners but said that such an option couldn’t be ruled out if the situation didn’t improve.

Another cotton ginner, Asar Das, said that Hesco should at least prepare a schedule for cotton ginners so that they could make their arrangements accordingly.