Farmers protest against pvt mill for not buying sugarcane

Hundreds of sugarcane farmers on Monday staged a protest at a private sugar mill in Yamunanagar accusing the mill management of not purchasing their produce.

The farmers gathered on the premises of Saraswati Sugar Mill and alleged that the mill is not buying the widely sown sugarcane variety, Co 0238, despite an agreement signed with them for supply it, and they are facing harassment as they have not been able to sow wheat crop in time.

The mill purchases about 30 per cent of the total sugarcane grown in the state. They said Co 0238 is one of the early varieties of sugarcane which the government also recommends for its high yield. Several sugar mills in the state are purchasing this variety but the Saraswati Sugar Mill was preferring other varieties like CoH 160 and CoJ 85, despite the agreement.

They also accused the mill management of delaying the crushing operations by three weeks. “Despite the government’s directions to advance crushing to the first week of November, the management did not comply with the order,” said Vijay Mehta, a local farmer leader. The farmers said the mill was purchasing sugarcane from farmers from the other districts, as the management wants to delay the crushing season by May next year as the recovery of sugar remains higher during that period. The mill’s tardy procurement comes at a time when the acreage under sugarcane has jumped to 1.25 lakh hectares.