Bara, September 27

Sugarcane farmers have complained against a sugar mill in Bara for not clearing its dues to them for more than a year .

Last year, Reliance Sugar and Chemical Industries Pvt Ltd of Shreepur in Kalaiya sub-metropolis had bought sugarcane from farmers at Rs 536 per quintal. A year on, the mill is yet to pay the farmers.

While the mill pays Rs 471.28 per quintal, remaining Rs 65.28 is provided as grant by the government to the farmers.

A sugarcane farmer, Ramlal Patel of Kalaiya Sub-metropolis-24 lamented choosing sugarcane farming among other options. “We’re tired of frequenting the sugar mill requesting for payment,” he said.

Sugarcane Farmers Association Bara Chairperson Birendra Kushwaha accused the sugar mill of reneging its promise of timely payment.

“The mill had promised to pay the farmers within 30 to 45 days after the purchase, but one year later we have been waiting endlessly for the payment,” said Kushwaha.  He added that the mill still owed Rs 530 million to some 9,500 farmers.

Last year, the mill had purchased some 2.801 million quintal of sugarcane cultivated in around 12,000 bigaha.