NIZAMABAD: Sugarcane farmers in Nizamabad, who have been fighting a long battle for the revival of sugar factories, are now pressing to make their demand an election issue in the district. Nizamabad was known for its high sugarcane yield. However, two historic sugar factories in the district — Nizam Sugar Factory aka Nizam Deccan Sugars Limited (NDSL) in Bodhan and Nizamabad Co-operative Sugar Factory (NCSF) at Sarangapur — were shut down in 2008 due to various reasons. Despite the repeated assurance, successive governments have not been able to reopen them.
During the 2019 General Elections, Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind raised the issue and reaped divide-nds and, other parties too are keen on tapping the issue.NCSF stakeholders and sugarcane farmers recently held a meeting to discuss the reopening of the sugarcane factories at length. Former minister Mandava Venkateshwar Rao attended and extended support to them. One of the NSCF directors, K Saireddy, said it was the right time to press the political parties. “We will announce an action plan soon,” he said.