BAHAWALPUR, Feb 13: The government has directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to immediately initiate the process of purchasing cotton from ginners.

The decision was welcomed by Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Chaudhry Jamil Tahir.

He said the ginners had been asking the government for the last two-and-a-half-years that the TCP should be inducted in the market to stabilize cotton prices which had declined to Rs500 per 40 kg in the open market.

The fallen prices had caused heavy losses to ginners and growers whose payments were withheld with ginneries as they were unable to pay arrears due to cotton crisis.

Ginners in Bahawalpur division, he said, had yet to dispose of about 2 million bales of lint cotton, and as many were still lying with the stocks of growers.

ARRESTED: Abbas Nagar police on a tip-off arrested five proclaimed offenders including Bashir and Ramzan here on Wednesday.