MARDAN, Sept 13: Farmers of Mardan district have threatened to stop supply of sugarcane to mills in Peshawar valley if owners of mills refuse to spend the sales duty collected from sugarcane products for the welfare of growers.

Talking to local journalists, Anjuman Kashtkaran provincial vice president Nimat Shah Roghani alleged that mill owners used to exploit growers during crushing season and didn’t not pay due price for the crop.

Peshawar valley has four sugar mills including Premier Sugar Mills Mardan, Frontier Sugar Mills Takhtbai, Khazana Sugar Mills Peshawar and Charsadda Sugar Mills.

Charsadda Suagr Mills was closed some 20 years ago due to labour and owner dispute while FSM was also closed due to non-supply of cane by the growers. The employees of FSM have been protesting against the administration for the last 72 days. Management of the FSM has sacked some 100 employees both technical and general labour.

Mr Roghani said that management of the sugar mills purchased cane on their own terms and condition. He demanded of the owners of sugar mills to either withdraw the duty collected from the sugar products or used it for the welfare of the growers otherwise they would not supply cane to them during the current season.

He said if the mills owners refused to accept their demands the growers would produce gur and would stop cane supply to the mills.

It may be added that local growers have started producing gur in various areas of the district some two weeks ago.

Mr Roghani also condemned increase in the prices of fertilisers, pesticides and seed and termed it a conspiracy against the growers and country as well.

He claimed that urea price was raised 100 per cent within one week as a week ago urea price was Rs630 and now it was available in the market at Rs1100.

He claimed that small growers had left the farming sector as they could not afford expenditures and were forced to sell their land at throw away prices. He urged the rulers to look into the matter and save them from destruction.