A fact finding committee headed by retired High Court judge G. Bikshapathi blamed the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) for the damage of Rs. 80 lakh worth cotton following a heavy rain at Warangal market yard on February 8.
The panel, which also included a farmers’ organisation leader from Warangal S. Jaipal Reddy, told a press conference on Monday that the CCI failed to lift the cotton bales and exposed them to rain and fire after fixing the price.
The stocks should have been transported to mills or godowns since the price had been fixed.
However, they were left in the open and allowed to drench in the untimely rain. Thereafter, the CCI refused to purchase the stocks.
Lack of sheds
They also blamed the CCI for lack of sheds to shelter arrival of stocks at the market yard as the cause of disaster. The huge market yard also had too many openings, risking the material brought by the farmers. They demanded that the price deducted for the damage of cotton should be paid back to the farmers.
