Khargone (Madhya Pradesh): Heavy rainfall in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district has turned into a disaster for farmers and cotton factory owners.
The unexpected downpour damaged crops in fields and destroyed stored cotton worth crores of rupees.
Torrential rain hit Kasrawad Road on Saturday, flooding cotton ginning units.
A viral video shows hundreds of quintals of cotton being washed away by strong water currents. The floodwater swept through the ginning factories, carrying cotton heaps like lightweight straws.
Multiple ginning facilities suffered massive losses. KK Fibers on Kasrawad Road, Kisan Ginning on Temla Road and factories on Julwania Road reported extensive damage. Cotton stored in open areas got completely soaked.
Pritesh Agarwal, who operates KK Fibers Ginning, said sudden heavy rain started Sunday afternoon.
Within thirty minutes, the entire premises flooded. Around 700 quintals of cotton stored at his factory became wet. He estimates losses exceeding one crore rupees.
Workers had covered cotton with tarpaulin sheets during light rain on Saturday. However, the protective covering proved useless when intense rain poured down Sunday. The downpour felt like a cloudburst, Agarwal claimed.
Cotton arrivals at markets have been unusually high this season. Factories stored large quantities in open spaces for drying before processing. This practice backfired when unexpected rain struck.
Farmers face dual problems. Standing cotton crops are rotting in fields due to continuous rain. Ready cotton cannot be picked because laborers are unavailable and markets have stopped buying.
Blooming cotton is falling from plants and turning black after getting soaked. This damaged cotton will sell at much lower prices, adding to farmer distress.
