Farmers not coming forth to take over Nizam Sugars: Minister

Spirited protest:Scores of angry employees of Nizam Sugar Factory under the aegis of Nizam Deccan Sugars Limited Workers Joint Action Committee staging a protest in front of NSDL office in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, on Friday.- Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

The factories of the Nizam Sugars Limited (NSL) at Bodhan, Metpally, and Medak could not be reopened because sugar-cane farmers had not come forward to take over the management to run it in cooperative format, Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy informed at the press meet on Friday.

Answering a question, Mr.Srinivas Reddy attributed the losses incurred by the factory to low yield of sugar-cane, as opposed to the yields in a few districts of Maharashtra. While the yield here is mere 30 to 40 tonnes per acre, in Maharashtra, it goes up to 100 tonnes.

“We went as a delegation to Maharashtra to know about their cultivation methods. The Chief Minister later asked the farmers to shift to these new methods, and offered to have the repairs done to the factories and hand them over to the farmers. But the farmers have not shown any enthusiasm,” Mr. Srinivas Reddy said.

Criticising the Congress leader P.Sudarshan Reddy’s ‘padayatra’ for government’s take over of the factories, the Minister accused Mr. Reddy of thwarting the same earlier during Congress regime. The tour is meant only for political mileage, he said.

Responding to the call for his sacking over sale of spurious chilli seed by TPCC president N.Uttam Kumar Reddy, Mr. Srinivas Reddy said the company was brought to pay double the price as compensation to the affected farmers.

The Minister questioned why Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy did not resign over housing scams during Congress rule.