Farmers demand resumption of operations at sugar mill in Palwal

Members and representatives of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) resorted to a sit-in outside the state government-owned cooperative sugar mill here on Monday to protest against the delay in the resumption of the operations at the mill during the cane crushing season this year.

Mahender Singh Chauhan, a spokesperson of the SKM, said though the mill ought to begin cane crushing work by the first week of November, the authorities concerned had failed to made it operational even by the third week of the month, thus threatening a major loss to the farmers who wanted to go for sowing the next crop after harvesting the sugarcane in their fields. He claimed that the sugarcane growers of the region, including the ones in the districts of Palwal and Gurugram, would be at the receiving end due to the delay on this count, and might have to suffer losses if they were unable to supply the cane to the mill on time.

Dharam Chand Gugera and Uday Singh, a former sarpanch, said it was unfortunate that the farmers, who were food providers to the country, had to agitate or stage a protest at every step concerned with farming. Though the operation of the mill or provision of fertilisers and seeds on time was a routine work of the authorities or the state government, the delay on such issues had been a cause of concern, they added.

While the farmers’ association submitted a memorandum to the sugar mill officials, they were told that it was likely to be operational by November 24, after the completion of the test run of the boiler of the sugar mill.