Deogaon: Sugarcane farmers have decided to launch a congregation on March 28 for the revival of the Bijayananda Cooperative Sugar Mill at Sagarpalli in Bolangir district, reports Orissa Post. Farmers’ leaders shared the information during a press conference on Thursday.
The sugar mill was once a major sugar producer in the western Odisha districts.
The agrarian growth of the region has been stopped since the closure of the mill in 2010. This has impacted the farm income of the farmers residing in the Kalahandi, Nuapada, Boudh, Sonepur and Bolangir districts.
The factory that started operations in 1992 was closed in 2010 due to pending debt and mismanagement.
The mill continued operations for some time till 2014 after Jagneswar Babu, former president of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank took efforts to revive the mill in 2010. Since then the mill has stopped operations and farmers continue demanding the revival of the mill.
Rajesh Bagarti, president of the Paschima Odisha Seva Sangh said, “If the government fails to revive the mill we will organise a rally against the government demanding revival of the mill.”
