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| April 12, 2007 | Thursday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 23, 1428 |
Mills closure pushes 1,250 families to starvation
DADU, April 11: The families of 1,250 employees of the Dadu sugar mills, which has remained closed since 1998, have to go through unbearable hardships as they wait for the day when their bread winners will have jobs again.
Dadu sugar mills is located at New Piaro Goth, some 40 kilometres from Dadu is the only industrial unit in the area constructed in 1977 by the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Leader of employees union of Dadu Sugar Mills Pir Mithal alleged that the mill had been closed due to wrong policies of then provincial minister industries Dewan Yousuf, as supported the private sector and financial assistance was provided to this public sector unit.
He claimed that since 1998 some 65 employees of this mill had died because they had no money to purchase the medicines.
Mr Mithal said that Sindh chief minister had assured them that all the employees would be absorbed in other government departments but he had not yet fulfilled the promise.
The mills deputy accountant Noor Nabi Soomro said that the mills had a crushing capacity of 100,000 maund daily. Most of the machinery was still sound and the mills could be restarted after necessary cleaning. At least Rs50 to 60 million were required to run the mills, he added.
A grower Javed Ahmed Panhwar said that about 22 months ago some parts of the mills machinery were stolen by influential people in connivance with local police but were later recovered.
The mills closure had badly affected sugarcane crop in the area, he said and added that the mills’ machinery had rusted and many parts of the machinery had become non-functional. The mills had to be closed in 1998 in the wake of heavy losses rendering the administration unable to pay Rs300 millions it owed to the growers who had supplied the mills sugarcane.
A shopkeeper Rajib Panhwar complained that mills’ closure had broken the back of business activities in Piaro Goth. Schools, hospital and residential colony were without electricity, gas and water supply. The facilities were discontinued following heavy default, he said.
Tractors, ambulances, jeeps and other vehicles were seen getting rusted in and around the mills’ workshop.
The mills’ general manager Mohammad Moosa Dasti said that the mills’ auction was held in February 2007 but it could not be auctioned and now the Sindh High Court would fix the auction date after its machinery was re-assessed.
The employees Allah Bachayo Panhwar and Bhai Khan Birhamani demanded payment of accumulated salaries of last nine years and pension to the retired employees.
KILLED: Unidentified armed men killed a man and his son in Pir Bux Chehwan village near Khairpur Nathan Shah on Wednesday morning.
Reports reaching here said that Sahib Chehwan, 50, and his son Zulfiqar, 20, were shot dead and their bullet riddled bodies were found in the fields weher they had gone to water.
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