Increased capacity sugar plant starts ops at Paniar sugar mills

In what officials say is a positive step towards mitigating long-term concerns of cane farmers of the Majha region, a 5000 Tonnes of Cane Crushed per Day (TCD) sulphur-less sugar plant has commenced commercial production trial at the government-owned Gurdaspur Cooperative Sugar Mill at Paniar near here.

Dr Senu Duggal, Managing Director of Punjab Sugarfed, said, “Cane farmers will not be required to travel to far-away places to dispose of their produce once the plant achieves full operational ability next season.”

The plant will also be exporting 120 MW power per day to PSPCL during the trial stage. It aims to earn an extra revenue of Rs 18 crore annually by selling this power.

The agreement for the establishment of the plant had been signed with a Pune-based private party and Paniar mill in December, 2021.

“We had met Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann recently and apprised him of our problems. He had assured that the capacity of the mill was in the process of being increased and once it was done, we will not have to face any problems,” said Rashpal Singh, a cane farmer.

An official said the extra revenue earned by exporting power to PSPCL will enable the mill to make it self-sustainable in the near future. “Moreover, more and more farmers will bring their produce to the mill. This will decrease transportation expenses and save time. The decrease in transportation expenses will only add to their overall profit margin,” said Dr Duggal.