Bathinda Cotton Thermal Power Canal Kissan Mandi Malwa Punjab

Bathinda district in the Malwa region of Punjab is the commercial hub of Malwa — the cotton-growing zone of Punjab where American cotton (Bt cotton, local name 'Narma') replaces wheat-paddy in the rotation on the black soils south of the Sirhind Canal. Bathinda's HPCL Guru Gobind Singh Refinery (9 MMTPA capacity) is one of north India's largest refineries, processing crude from Rajasthan's Barmer fields. The district's thermal power stations (BBMB, NTPC) at Ropar and the Bhakra canal network that flows through Bathinda made it Punjab's energy and water infrastructure hub. Bathinda's kissan (farmer) grain and cotton mandi is one of Punjab's largest agricultural market yards, setting prices for Malwa's crop output.