Crushing season commences at Karnal cooperative sugar mill

Haryana Minister for Cooperation Arvind Sharma today said in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set a target of establishing 150 new sugar mills across the country. As part of this initiative, work is underway to set up a cooperative sugar mill in Narayangarh in Haryana, he said, while addressing farmers through video conferencing during the inauguration of the 50th crushing season of the Karnal cooperative sugar mill.

Lauding the efforts being undertaken by the Haryana government for the welfare of sugarcane farmers, he said, “Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has already announced the highest sugarcane procurement price in the country — Rs 415 per quintal for early variety and Rs 408 per quintal for the late variety. I will soon meet the CM to request special incentives, including subsidised harvesting machines, to encourage farmers for sugarcane sowing,” he said.

Indri MLA Ram Kumar Kashyap chaired the function, while Sugar Federation MD Shakti Singh and other dignitaries were also present.

Sharma said the cooperation sector will play a key role in fulfilling the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047. He highlighted that Haryana is moving swiftly under the leadership of CM Saini to strengthen the cooperative sugar mill network.

He said the state government had ensured timely payments to farmers and that the online token system had saved 10-12 hours for farmers.

Sharma said efforts initiated last year to reconnect sugarcane farmers will result in a significant rise in cane arrival this year. “We are expecting 3.90 lakh quintals of additional cane arrival this year at Karnal Sugar Mill and 2 lakh quintals more at Shahabad Sugar Mill. Both mills have been consistently winning national awards and will continue to grow with the support of farmers,” he said.

Indri MLA Ramkumar Kashyap congratulated the mills on the start of crushing season, highlighting that Karnal sugar mill is a leader in production of sulphur-free refined sugar and also generates electricity.

Haryana State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills Managing Director (MD) Shakti Singh said despite challenges like Covid, cane supply continued uninterrupted. He assured that all necessary facilities will be provided to farmers.

Karnal Sugar Mill MD Aditi also congratulated farmers and expressed confidence that the mill will achieve rapid progress with farmers’ cooperation. During the event, farmers who brought the first lot of cane of the season, including Jagmeet of Phoosgarh village, Kaushal and Naresh from Sadharpur villages, were honoured. Farmers adopting new technologies for cane cultivation were also felicitated.