Thanjavur: Hundreds of sugarcane farmers gheraoed the collector’s office in Thanjavur on Wednesday demanding action against private sugar mills which have been delaying disbursal of arrears worth several crores of rupees, reports The Times of India.
The Thiru Arooran Sugar Mill at Thirumandankudi has been closed for the last four years without paying dues of farmers, said Raveendran, president of the Sugarcane Farmers Association.
He alleged that the mill had taken a loan of around Rs 300 crore from banks after making farmers who had been supplying sugarcane debtors. Now the mill has been taken by another party but the farmers continue to be debtors, he said.
As many as 15,000 farmers are struggling to support their families and they have been protesting outside the mill for the last 20 days for their demands, said Raveendran.
