Jajpur: Even as the government makes tall claims of doing a lot for agriculture and farmers, a sugar mill of the 1970s in this district is lying closed for the past 43 years. This is a serious concern for the large number of sugar farmers in the area.
The defunct sugar mill in Krushnanagar village under Serpur panchayat of Bari block is a pitiable picture of governmental apathy. While the government closed down the mill in a jiffy, it took no step for its revival. While farmers are seriously hit by the closure of the mill, thousands of job opportunities have been lost.
Several leaders have been elected to the state assembly from Bari and adjoining Binjharpur assembly segment during this period, but farmers say none of them took any interest in the revival of the mill.
Sources said a former industries director Padmanabh Mishra identified over 5acres of land at Krushnanagar village for establishment of a sugar mill in 1960. The then Bari MLA Chittaranjan Nayak, father of present MLA Debashis Nayak, former Bari block chairperson Rudra Charan Samal, former sarpanch Bira Kishore Ray and freedom fighter Bhikari Mohanty took the lead in the establishment of the sugar mill. It was inaugurated by the then industries minister Kanhu Charan Lenka in 1975.
The sugar mill started functioning with a manager, a class-IV employee and about 100 labourers. While 20 of the labourers were appointed by the state government, the rest worked on contract basis. Farmers from Gamu, Krushnanagar, Serpur, Panikana, Benjrapur, Matiapada, Haladibasant and Balia villages used to ferry the sugarcanes in bullock carts to the sugar mill in exchange of Rs 70 as payment for per quintal of sugarcane.
However, the mill was soon pushed into uncertainty as it failed to transport 25 sacks of sugar produced daily due to road communication problems. The Birupa and Brahmani rivers are set on its both sides. Moreover, unavailability of sugarcane on a regular basis also worsened the situation.
The sugar produced in this mill was not of high quality and there was not enough of market to sell the produce, a former employee Atul Ray said. Later, its equipment and machinery were sold to a scrap dealer in Kolkata. The closure of the sugar mill rendered the labourers jobless.
Several changes have taken place in the region in the last four decades. The village is now well-connected with good roads and newer market facilities. The revival of the mill can be of much help to the region.
It is reckoned that the mill’s revival could help over 5,000 sugarcane farmers and give direct or indirect employment to 3,000 people in the area. However, an accusation is that the present MLA Debashis Nayk has not been of much help in this matter, though he is representing the area for five times in a row.
When contacted, collector Ranjan Kumar Das said he had no knowledge about the 43-year-old sugar mill. He said he has no power to revive the sugar mill and any steps for its revival could be taken only at the highest level by the state government.
PNN
