Spurious cotton seed sales unabated in Adilabad

Adilabad: Despite the District Collector's warning that PD Act will be imposed on those, who sell sub-standard seeds, spurious cotton seeds business is going on unabated and in fact on the rise in the joint Adilabad district.

Seed sellers are looting innocent farmers by selling sub-standard cotton seeds to them.

They are selling banned BT-3 in the market with alleged political support.

The police have seized the banned BT-3 seeds in several place in the joint district. Fake seeds worth more than Rs 6 lakhs were seized at Echoda mandal headquarter in Adilabad district. On Monday (June 3), sub-standard cotton seed bags worth more than Rs 14 lakhs were seized at Basara in Nirmal district.

It's learnt that the seeds were brought from Gujarat to sell in the local market and were being stored in godown in Basara town. The State government has banned BT-3 cotton seeds as the farmers are incurring losses due to spurious cotton seeds every year.

The farmers complained that the vigilance officials are tuning a blind eye to these fake seeds sales, which has been going on for a long time in the district. The officials concerned are conducting rides for name sake and seizing spurious cotton seeds but unable to prevent the illegal business from market. They have failed to take stringent action against the fake seed sellers, hence their business is flourishing. In Adilabad, Nirmal, Mancherial and Komram Bheem-Asifabad districts, the sale of banned BT seeds is going on with the alleged political support.

Cotton cultivation is more in Bhainsa, Adilabad, Utnoor, Kagaznagar and Mancherial divisions. As the cotton growers purchase seeds from the beginning of Kharif season, sellers get stocks of spurious seeds to sell them to the farmers. Particularly in agency area dealers are selling the banned BT-3 seeds in villages through mediators, agents and distributing door to door. While Nirmal and Asifabad SPs issued warning that PD Act will be imposed on those, who sell banned BT seeds. Two days after this warning, police and agricultural officers caught 603 quintals of banned BT-3 seeds, worth Rs 14 lakhs at Basara in Nirmal district.

In the joint Adilabad district, every year vigilance officers will conduct raids in May first week and again in June first week, when the seeds sales will be done. But this year the vigilance officials reportedly didn't conduct. And the district agricultural officers never check the cotton seed shops, who are selling sub-standard seeds and they are busy in checkin the transport offices.

According to sources, with the help of political influence, the traders are selling sub-standard cotton seeds in Agency areas like Echoda, Indervelli, Narnoor, Jainoor, Kerameri, Asifabad, Sirpur, Kagaznagar, Wankidi and other areas through mediators and agents.