MUZAFFARGARH: Farmers have stopped cotton picking because of low rates of the crop in Muzaffargarh and decided to block the Chenab bridge after Ashura.

Reports said a number of farmers gathered in city areas and decided to stop picking as, according to them, rates had turned irrelevant.

Ahmad Bakhsh, a farmer of Qasba Gujrat, said: “Traders are looting growers and buying cotton at Rs2,300 per 40 kilo. Farmers are worried about cotton rates and growers of Kot Addu and Chowk Sarwer Shaheed have decided not to pick cotton. They have decided to block the Chenab bridge at Sher Shah and chant slogans against the government after Ashura.

The Muzaffargarh district has 80 cotton factories and each unit selects traders for buying the crop.

A source says in summer factory owners give Urea and DAP fertilisers to traders, asking them to provide the same to farmers. In this way, traders try their utmost to purchase the crop for factories at low rates.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014