LAHORE, Nov 16: Three sugar mills of the southern Punjab started crushing sugar-cane on Sunday, formally launching the crushing season in the province.

According to sources in the Punjab Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), two mills in Rahim Yar Khan and one in Rajanpur had started crushing cane while one in Pakpattan and another in Bahawalpur had fired their boilers.

Labour and transportation workers for the mills come mainly from the NWFP. They cannot be brought back for a week and then given leave for Eid holidays. For this reason, most of the mills would start crushing sugar-cane after Eid, the sources said.

Farmers have welcomed the start of crushing season, but they claimed that much of the damage had already been done. Out of 39 mills, only three have started crushing while only two have fired their boilers. Some 34 mills are still to move into action. This shows the magnitude of pressure the government has been able to apply on the millers, they said.

The 34 mills would effectively start the crushing season in the first or second week of December, thus forcing farmers to delay wheat-sowing, they claim. But even then, the start of season could only be welcomed, the farmers said, hoping that the rest of the mills would soon follow suite. —Staff Reporter