Farmers protest outside CCI office in Bathinda, demand MSP for cotton procurement

On Monday the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan staged a protest outside the office of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) in the Bathinda zone.
The CCI has not been purchasing cotton at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), leading private traders to exploit farmers by buying their crops at lower rates.
Leaders of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan, the primary organization behind the protests, stated that the CCI has not initiated the procurement of cotton at the MSP, forcing farmers associated with private factories to sell their produce at rates determined by the buyers.
The MSP rate for cotton, set by the government, is fixed at 7,500 rupees per quintal, while private cotton factories are purchasing the crop from farmers at a rate as low as 4,000 rupees.
A one-day protest was organized today, and it was declared that if the demands were not met, an indefinite protest would be launched. Officials from the CCI declined to comment, locking the office and leaving the premises.Speaking to the media, Shingara Singh Maan, the district head of Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan, and Harjinder Singh Baggi, a farmer leader, expressed their concerns about the exploitation of farmers by private traders