The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : `Register cane for mills'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

`Register cane for mills'

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, JULY 18. The Dindigul MP, N. S. V. Chittan, has urged the Centre to direct the sugar mills at Pandiyarajapuram and Alanganallur to register cane for mills in the area earmarked for procurement to facilitate the functioning of these mills.

In a letter to the Union Agricultural Minister, Sharad Pawar, Mr. Chittan said the Centre should provide financial assistance to these mills. There were only two mills in Dindigul: Madura Sugars at Pandiyarajapuram functioning under the public sector and the National Cooperative Sugar Mills at Alanganallur.

Established in 1966, the National Cooperative Sugar Mills had its crushing capacity extended to 25,000 tonnes in 1989, and the capacity now was 4,30,000 tonnes at the rate of 2,500 tonnes a day for 172 days.

Nearly 500 employees were employed in the mills, and an equal number of workers were dependent on them.

The crushing operation at the National Cooperative Sugar Mills was stopped from 2002 - 03, without any order from the authorities concerned, and as a result, the registered cane for the mills for crushing was diverted to private mills.

Further, the cane registration for the subsequent period from 2002-03 was stopped. Since these were the only two mills in south Tamil Nadu, the Centre should act in the interest of the workers, he said adding the Alanganallur mill catered to the needs of 10,000 growers.

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