The failure of Natems Sugar Factory in Nindra to clear its outstanding payments to local sugarcane farmers and factory workers has sparked widespread protests. According to news report by Hans India, farmers and workers have been demanding their overdue payments for five years, but the factory’s management has not resolved the issue.
The factory owes over Rs 100 crore, including Rs 60 crore to a finance company, Rs 35 crore to the farmers, and about Rs 7 crore to its workers. This debt has led to rising frustration, particularly among farmers, who have been leading the protests and demonstrations.
The situation escalated recently when a finance company announced plans to auction off the factory’s assets to recover its dues. The farmers are outraged, arguing that an auction should not proceed while their payments are still pending.
On Tuesday, farmers protested in front of the factory, strongly opposing the auction plan and demanding immediate intervention from local officials. They accused authorities of negligence for not securing a stay order to halt the auction. Led by Nethaji Sugarcane Farmers’ Association president Adinarayana Reddy and secretary Srinivasulu Yadav, the farmers made it clear they would not support the auction unless their dues were settled.
“There will be no auction until our dues are cleared,” declared the protestors amidst strong support from the farming community. To the protesters, Babitha, deputy general manager of the finance company, met with the farmers and assured them that discussions with the district collector would be held about their every issue, including the amount to be paid to the workers. After this assurance, the farmers temporarily called off their protest but warned that they would resume the protest if no action was initiated.
Union leaders Kannaiah and Sampath Kumar said, “We had joined the factory in 1994. We worked hard to develop this factory. Now, we are without jobs and are getting by day to day.” “It’s five years now. Our families are suffering. The government needs to step in and help us,” they said.
