Farmers Movement Archive

Crushing season to begin soon, previous dues pending

Ambala, November 5The cane crushing season of the Naraingarh sugar mill will begin in November, but it is yet to clear the farmers’ dues of around Rs 63 crore (including post-dated cheques) for the previous crushing season that ended in April.The mill crushed around 50 lakh quintal of sugarcane in November, last year. As per the norms, payments are to be cleared within 14 days of the purchase of sugarcane. Unhappy with the situation, farmers are now planning to hold a meeting before the commencement of the new crushing season to decide the future course of action. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) spokesperson Rajiv Sharma said, “During the last season, the mill had crushed sugarcane worth over Rs 172 crore, and payment of around Rs 109.25 crore has been cleared. Payment of around Rs 63.07 crore (Rs 35.48 crore in the form of post-dated cheques given to farmers, and around Rs 27.59 crore cash payment) is pending. The mill authorities said they will start operations for the next season around November 20.”

The Tribune

2021-11-06