SANGAREDDY: The management of the Trident Sugar Factory in Zaheerabad has finally paid the money it owed to the farmers. However, it is yet to clear the wage arrears for its employees.
Recently, the employees had protested, prompting district collector Valluru Kranthi to intervene and negotiate with the management. As a result, steps were taken regarding the payment of dues.
The factory had announced it will clear the salary arrears of the employees by May 27 and will also settle the pending PF money, GST and other government dues by June.
Furthermore, the management had announced that the factory will be reopened, bringing joy to the farmers. On January 7, the health minister laid the foundation stone for the construction of another private sugar factory at Mootur in Raikode mandal of Sangareddy district.
Assistant Cane Commissioner Rajasekhar said, “The construction of this new factory is progressing rapidly, with crushing expected to begin in October. This factory, also close to Zaheerabad, is seen as a boon for local farmers.”
Officials said that about 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane is cultivated in Zaheerabad region. The suspension of crushing at Trident over the last two years had forced many farmers to move their produce to Ganapati Sugars near Sangareddy and to private sugar mills in Nizamabad and also to Karnataka, incurring additional transport costs.
If these factories start this year, officials believe that the burden on farmers will reduce. The state government’s announcement to reopen the Nizam Sugars has also brought happiness to the farmers in the region.
Earlier, there were two sugar mills in the erstwhile Medak district, one in Zaheerabad and the other in Medak constituencies. The Zaheerabad mill was completely sold to private individuals by the previous government. Nizam Sugars Industry located at Mambojipally in Medak constituency, operates as a government- private partnership.
Farmers say that if the private share is bought out, it could become fully government-owned.