HYDERABAD: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) vice president Nabi Bux Sathio has urged the Sindh government to impose heavy penalties on sugar mills on the pattern of Punjab for delaying commencement of sugar cane crushing.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, he said that not all the sugar factories had started crushing of the season’s cane crop. He condemned the “anti-growers, arrogant, non-cooperative, anti-state” attitude and non-compliance of orders of the Sindh government which had directed sugar mills to start crushing by Nov 30.

He said it was surprising that a week ago, some sugar mills, which failed to start crushing by Nov 30, sent a letter to the Sindh cane commissioner mentioning that growers were not supplying cane to the mills.

It was on record that sugar mills, which had started crushing by the first or second week of November, were running at optimum level, he said. Growers were supplying sugar cane crop to mills to the best of their capacity, he said, adding that the mills, which had started crushing, were offering fair price of crop to farmers.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2020