PERAMBALUR: Even as the sugarcane crushing season for the year 2022-2023 entered the second week, farmers here have pointed to an unprecedented delay in the arrival of transport trucks from the Eraiyur sugar mill in Perambalur to sugarcane fields.
This has resulted in harvested sugarcane starting to wilt as the produce has been kept in the fields for over a day or two, farmers said. Sugarcane crushing, which usually starts in the first week of December at the at Eraiyur sugar mill, commenced only on 22 December 2022.
About 3.60 lakh metric tons of sugarcane produced from 12,000 acres of fields in Perambalur, Ariyalur, Kallakurichi and Cuddalore districts have been planned to be crushed in the sugarcane mill. It was proposed to produce 3.52 lakh quintals of sugar for the current year.
It is in this situation that the farmers from several villages, including K Pudur, Namaiyur, Murukkangudi, Ponnagaram and Keelapuliyur, lamented the management of the mill over the delay, urging the district administration to take immediate action. K Kalairaja, a farmer from K Pudur, said, "I cultivated sugarcane on five acres of land.
Due to the unprecedented delay, sugarcane harvested from around 2.5 acres of land was transported to the Thanjavur sugar mill instead of the mill here. The remaining produce is still kept in the fields. It has been two days since the harvest and we are still waiting for the trucks to arrive. When inquired, the mill management failed to provide an answer.
We are forced to wait all day in the fields. As the produce is forming mounds in the fields, labourers refuse to come to the fields. Prolonged exposure to sunlight would ultimately lead to weight loss and wastage." A 30-year-old farmer from Namaiyur, on conditions of anonymity, said, "The delay is due to the slow functioning of the mill.
Around 10 trucks of sugarcane only are being crushed per hour in the mill instead of 15 trucks. Moreover, truck drivers show hesitancy in driving down to the fields citing poor road conditions." Eraiyur Sugar Mill Cane Development Officer P Anandhan told TNIE, "The mill has been functioning as per scheduled and we plan to crush about 2,800 tonnes of sugarcane every day. Issues encountered in the process will be addressed."