Chandigarh: The management of Bhagwanpura Sugar Mill in Dhuri has expressed concerns over the dwindling area under sugarcane cultivation in the mill’s vicinity, deeming the mill’s operations economically unviable, reported Tribune India.
In a meeting presided over by Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, officials from the sugar mill conveyed the challenges they face. They indicated that for the mill to operate feasibly, it requires a supply of 35 lakh quintals of sugarcane. However, this year’s cultivation has only covered 1,860 acres, resulting in a meager production of five lakh quintals.
Representatives of local sugarcane farmers, including Jaswinder Singh and Harjeet Singh, who have been protesting the mill’s closure, attended the meeting. The Agriculture Department assured them that the sugarcane produced by local growers would be redirected to Mukerian, Budhewal, and Amloh sugar mills for crushing. Despite being just one-third into the cane-crushing season, two lakh quintals of cane from Dhuri have already been sent to these three mills.
The Dhuri mill is the second private sugar mill in the state to cease operations in recent years, following the Phagwara sugar mill. The current challenges faced by private sugar mills are attributed to the reduction in sugarcane cultivation, frequent hikes in the State Advised Price (SAP) of cane to appease farmers, low sugar recovery, and relatively stagnant sugar prices.
