Over 7,000 sugarcane farmers in Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh districts are staring at a bleak future as some unscrupulous elements have seized Nayaagarh Sugar Complex Limited (NSCL), a private sugar mill located on the outskirts of Nayagarh town, nearly 100 km from here.
According to NSCL chairman Trailokya Mishra, some persons with “hidden” motives were creating disturbances at the complex, thereby halting the plant operation.
“For the last four to five days, no member of the management or the employees have been allowed to enter the sugar mill complex as some people have laid siege of the unit for some ulterior motives. Although we have drawn the attention of the district administration to the problem, it is yet to respond,” Mr Mishra said.
He added that unless normalcy was restored forthwith, the future of the plant will be pushed to uncertainty and thereby affect livelihood of over 7,000 farmers.
Mr Mishra had purchased the defunct Nayagarh Sugar Mill from the state government in 2004 at `5.22 crores. There was a turnaround in the 1,250-TCD (tonne crushed per day) unit.
As per the sale-purchase agreement made in 2004 with the state government, the NSCL had agreed to pay the outstanding over a period of 13 years. However, it paid the entire amount by December 2009, eight years before the stipulated period.