40,000 farmers await payments as Yamunanagar sugar mill closes for season

YAMUNANAGAR: At a time when farmers are bearing loss to wheat crop on account of unseasonal rain, Asia's largest sugar mill Sarswati Sugar Mill Ltd in Yamunangar closed for the season without making payment of Rs 200 crore to 40,000 farmers of the region. On Wednesday, the management closed the mill till the next season while it has failed to make full payments to farmers who waited for six months after selling their cane crop.
"This is the first time when such huge payments of sugarcane farmers are outstanding. Otherwise, we easily made payments in the previous years. The reason for it is that the mill is running into losses," chief operating officer (COO) of Sarswati Sugar Mill told TOI.
Haryana government had received the request for financial assistance from the mill management five months ago which had made the appeal after evaluating its financial status. About 40,000 farmers from 670 villages of the region bring their sugarcane crop to the mill every year. "Neither mill authorities are taking responsibility nor is the state government paying heed to the crisis. Where will we go now? Mill authorities have their own story to tell and state government is tightlipped," said farmers Joginder Singh of Booria village and Jaipal of Bilaspur.