The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) will be setting up three new cotton procurement centres at Mulugu, Kataram and Chityal in the Bhupalpally district for the convenience of the farmers. The farmers need not go distant places to sell their produce, said District Collector A Murali.

The collector also conducted a review meeting over the cotton procurement for the season 2017-18 with the officials of the marketing department, ginning mills owners and cotton traders at his office in Bhupalpally on Wednesday.

The collector further added that the farmers should be given fair price for the produce and there should not be any sort of cheating in weighing. Stern action will be taken against those cheating the farmers.

The farmers were also appealed, to get the MSP, they will have to see that the moisture percentage is well within the prescribed levels.

Nearly half of total crops sown in Telangana this year is cotton, as farmers took to it on expectations of good returns. So far, it has been sown on nearly 18 lakh hectares, much higher than 12.36 lakh hectares in 2016-17.

The government will purchase cotton from them at MSP only, but the farmers have gone for it because of last year’s prices, thinking it is safer.