DADU, Feb 14: At least eight million maunds of sugarcane are available in Dadu district, but the growers are facing difficulties ever since the closure of the Piaro Goth Sugar Mill in 1998.
According to a survey conducted by this correspondent, the Piaro Goth Sugar Mills had been set up in 1977 at a cost of Rs120 million.
In the beginning, the mill was functioning smoothly but when it gave loans of Rs20 million to at least 200 influential landlords between 1980 and 1985 for cultivating sugarcane, problems started cropping up.
The influential landlords neither cultivated sugarcane in their fields nor paid back the loans to the mills.
Meanwhile, some officers of ill reputation were appointed on key posts at the mills due to political influence. The officers not only embezzled millions of rupees but also appointed hundreds of employees in the sugar mills.
There were 600 employees in the mill in the beginning, but the figure doubled after some time as a result of which the financial conditions of the mill deteriorated further.
At least 1,000 growers had supplied sugarcane to the mills but its administration did not pay them against their cane supplies, which stood at Rs50 million.
When the growers and the employees demanded their dues, the senior officials closed the mill for good in 1998.
The general secretary, employees union, Sugar Mill Piaro Goth, Dadu, Bhai Khan Birhamani, said that following the massive corruption, the mill was closed in 1998.
He said the mill administration had not paid salaries to 1,200 employees since 1998.
He said that after the mill’s closure, the surrounding area was economically destroyed, and added that electricity and gas connections to 200 residential quarters and to girls and boys schools of the mill had been cut off.
The Nazim of Union Council Piaro Goth, Ateequr Rehman Targo, said that due to closure of the mill, the growers and employees were facing financial problems.
He said that a huge quantity of sugarcane was available in the district and the government should restart the mill in the interest of the growers and its former employees.
FLOUR CRISIS: An Atta crisis is brewing in Dadu district as the food department has refused to provide fresh wheat to flour mills and are forcing them to pick old wheat stock, which is not fit for human consumption, from the nearest centres.
This has compelled the owners to close about 60 flour mills and Atta Chakkis in the district.
The food officials had dispatched fresh wheat to traders of Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah.
The flour mill owners alleged that the officials of the food department were forcing them to pick wheat from old stock from various godowns of the district.
Meanwhile, flour mills have stopped purchasing rotten wheat from the food department, which has resulted in the shortage of Atta in the district.
As many as 60 flour mills have been closed down in the district.
It is said that the food department was offering wheat lying in the godowns since the last 10 years at Rs850 per bag to mill owners.
Due to the shortage of wheat, shopkeepers were selling Atta at Rs13 per kg.
The general secretary, Flour Mills Association, Dadu district, Amanullah Memon, said that the district food officials had sold the fresh wheat to traders of other districts.
He said that the food department was not providing the quota of wheat to flour mills, which had created Atta shortage in the district.
He said that the Flour Mills Association had sent telegrams to the secretary food but no action had been taken as yet.
