Dhuri sugar mill auction tomorrow

Sangrur, September 18

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After sugarcane growers gheraoed the Excise Department officers for the release of their pending dues of Rs 9 crore on September 14, the Sangrur administration has now fixed September 20 as the next date of auction of M/s Bhagwanpura Sugar Mills, Dhuri.

12 ACRES OF LAND DEMARCATED

We’ve demarcated 12 acres of land of the sugar mill, which will be auctioned on Tuesday. It’s our priority to clear Rs 9-crore dues of cane growers first. Amit Gupta, Dhuri SDM

However, area sugarcane growers have refused to trust the administration and have decided to continue their protest. They have been sitting on an indefinite protest at the mill since September 14. They alleged that the officers were first trying to clear dues worth crores of the Excise Department.

Meanwhile, the growers have announced to intensify their agitation if the administration failed to clear their dues on priority.

“On September 14, officers of the Excise Department showed up suddenly and claimed that the mill has not paid tax worth crores. Earlier, they neither visited the mill nor even tried to recover their dues. Now, the administration has finally decided to auction the mill. So, it needs to clear our dues of Rs 9 crore first. If it tries to first clear the excise dues before us, we will intensify our agitation,” said said Harjeet Singh Bugra, chairman, Sugarcane Growers Struggle Committee.

Notably, a group of area growers have been sitting at the main gate of the mill, while two have been climbed atop a chimney. They have also formed various committees to keep strict vigil over the administration during the auction.

“The area under sugarcane has been going down in the district because a majority of growers have decided not to sow the crop next season due to the harassment by the mill authorities. If the government can’t ensure timely payment of our crops, then why will we adopt diversification,” said Jagtar Singh, a protester.

When contacted, Dhuri SDM Amit Gupta said the matter between the mill authorities and the Excise Department was sub judice and they couldn’t compel the former to pay the excise dues.