Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Farmers in Sarlahi say they have not received payments from two sugar mills that bought their canes.
Farmers say Annapurna Sugar Industry of Dhankaul and Mahalakshmi Sugar Industry of Bagdaha have not paid farmers even though a month has passed since the mills shut down operations. Sitaram Yadav, a farmer from Godaita Municipality-9, said that protests by farmers have become an annual occurrence due to non-payment by these sugar industries. He further added that mill owners have stopped communicating after making payments to some farmers.
Ramkiran Yadav, another farmer from Godaita Municipality, said that the delay in payments has made it difficult for them to run their households. Likewise, Rajkaran Yadav mentioned that many farmers like him are facing difficulty in paying for their children’s school fees and meeting household expenses. He further added that due to the uncertainty regarding release of payment, several are approaching local moneylenders for money to meet their household expenses.
Ramswarth Sah, a sugarcane farmer from Dhankaul-3, explained that he has been unable to pay for the tractor hired to transport sugarcane to the mills. He further added that all expenses incurred from planting canes to harvesting need to be cleared, but it is uncertain when they will receive the payments.
Rajkumar Upreti, another sugarcane farmer, stated that due to the delay in receiving payments, local farmers have started selling sugarcane to sugar industries in other districts. He also added that many farmers are giving up sugarcane farming and switching to other crops.
Out of the three sugar factories in the district, only Indushankar Sugar Industry in Hariwan is paying farmers on time. Yognarayan Rajak, manager of Indushankar Sugar Industry, said that sugarcane farming has decreased in the district due to the delay in payments by other factories, which has affected the day-to-day operation of his factory.
(With inputs from RSS)
