Tando Adam ginning factory caught red-handed mixing waste with quality cotton, the owner takes 100 armed men hostage to block the monitoring committee
Daily Dawn News, Dawn TV Report
Tando Adam: A shocking incident of large-scale cotton adulteration has come to light in Sindh, where a ginning factory in Tando Adam is accused of mixing cotton waste with high-quality cotton (lint) to produce such a synthetic product, which is being called ‘burger cotton’ in industry circles.
A 4-member monitoring team formed by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) to prevent illegal activities raided the factory after receiving credible information.
However, the situation turned serious during the operation when the factory owner allegedly called about 100 armed men and attacked the team members and held them hostage for several hours.
The incident has created a stir in the ginning industry across the country.
According to reports, some ginners, in collusion with textile mill representatives and laboratory staff, had been spoiling the quality of the product by adding cotton waste to lint bales for several years. This practice damaged the quality of domestic cotton and many textile mills started preferring expensive foreign imports instead of local purchases, which is causing the industry to face a financial crisis.
Before the start of the cotton year 2025-26, the PCGA had decided to expose the ‘black sheep’ in the sector. For this purpose, separate monitoring committees were formed in Punjab and Sindh, which were empowered to inspect factories and take action against violations.
The Sindh Monitoring Committee, headed by renowned General Ramesh Lal, had inspected several units since May. Although some factories had been found involved in adulteration in the past and had been given warnings, no new incidents had been reported until recently. On receiving fresh information, a four-member team comprising Haji Liaquat Ali Laskani, Seth Gopal Das, Seth Kishore Chand and Seth Jay Dada conducted a surprise raid on the Tando Adam factory.
According to the investigation team, three ginning units were operating in the same premises, where workers were preparing lint bales in such a way that the outer layer was filled with high-grade cotton and the inner layer with waste so that the quality would appear correct in the laboratory samples.
When the committee members tried to enter the factory, they faced stiff resistance. The factory owner allegedly summoned over 100 armed men who beat up the PCGA team at gunpoint and detained them for several hours. According to sources, the team saw huge piles of cotton waste at the scene, which were being mixed into lint.
According to Ehsanul Haq, a representative of the ginning industry, the adulterated cotton produced in this way, known as ‘burger cotton’ in Sindh, is being sold at high prices. He said that factory owners, purchasing agents of textile mills and laboratory staff are all involved in this illegal business, from which all parties are benefiting while the reputation of Pakistani cotton is being badly affected.
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