TOBA TEK SINGH: Farmers of the Gojra tehsil are happy over the the Lahore High Court (LHC) decision that Chaudhry Sugar Mills, owned by the Sharif family, be relocated to its original location (Gojra) from south Punjab.

Kissan Board Gojra President Advocate Chaudhry Zafar Iqbal Gujjar said they had protested against the shifting of the mills to Rahim Yar Khan in April 2015 but the Sharif family had gone ahead with the illegal activity, depriving the sugarcane growers of Gojra villages from livelihood. Now, they had to supply their sugarcane yield during current season to the other mills located in far off places as in Faisalabad, Jhang and Kamalia.

The LHC ruled on a plea that the shifting of three mills by the Sharif family to south Punjab from central Punjab was illegal.

The Chaudhry Sugar Mills, whose record tampering case is being investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency, was established in 1992 on 571 kanals. The mill had the crushing capacity of 8,500 tons per day. During the crushing season it would employee 1,000 people and in off season about 450 permanent staff. A board mills was also set up adjacent to the sugar mills the same year which was closed about two years ago.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2017