Reopen Chincholi sugar mill to help crush harvested sugarcane, farmers tell State govt.

The Sugarcane Growers Association demands the reopening of a closed sugar factory to save farmers from a crisis.

The Sugarcane Growers Association has demanded that the district administration reopen the sugar factory operated by Siddhasiri Souharda Sahakari Niyamit (SSSN), a cooperative bank presided over by BJP leader and Vijayapura MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, so that it can start crushing harvested sugarcane.

The factory located in Chincholi, Kalaburagi district, is facing the charge of being non-compliant with environmental norms with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) recently ordering its closure.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, district president of the Sugarcane Growers Association Jagadish Patil said that farmers in the region are facing problems in selling their harvested crop after the factory closed down.

“Sugarcane growers were, for almost 12 years, dreaming of having a sugar factory in their neighbourhood that can purchase their sugarcane. Their dream was realised a couple of months ago when SSSN established the factory. Now, the government has closed it down on the grounds of being non-compliant with environmental norms. Farmers have grown sugarcane on 20,000 acres in the region and there is nobody to procure it. The government’s move to close down the factory will push thousands of sugarcane growers into a serious crisis,” he said.

Pointing to sugarcane that has been already harvested, Mr. Patil said that sugarcane will simply dry if the factory is not opened to procure the crop.

“Sugarcane grown on vast tracts of land is already harvested. There are around 500 sugarcane-laden trucks parked on the factory premises. The closure of the factory without making alternative arrangements for crushing the harvested sugarcane is an imprudent decision. If the factory has violated norms in force, a penalty could have been imposed on it instead of closing it down. If the government doesn’t want to reopen the factory, it should, at least, purchase sugarcane. If the government doesn’t respond to our demand positively, we will have to resort to agitations,” he said.

Farmers leaders Basavaraj Patil, Shanthaveer Patil, Shanthaveerappa Hebbal, Karabasappa Ujja and Sharanabasappa Maga were present.