By Our Correspondent

Sarlahi, Jan. 4: Two out of three sugar mills in Sarlahi district have not been able to come into operation even during the high season for sugarcane production.
On the northern part of Sarlahi, which hosts highest number of sugarcane farms in all over Nepal, Indushankar Sugar Mill started crushing sugarcanea week ago.
But Annapurna Sugar Mill, Dhankaul and Mahalakshmi Sugar Mill, Bagdaha, located in the south of the district, have remained shut due to the strikeof sugarcane farmers.
Even though Mahalakshmi Sugar Mill was preparing to resume its operation on Thursday, the farmers opposed its plan.
The farmers alleged the mill for starting sugarcane crushing without paying last year’s dues.
Farmers, in hundreds, have said that they would not let the mill to operate unless the latter clears the due payment.
Mahalakshmi Sugar Mill has to pay Rs.214, 058,226 to the farmers. Likewise, Annapurna Sugar Mill has not paid the farmers for the last three/four years. Payment of Rs. 300 million is yet to be made by Annapurna Sugar Mill.
Most of the farmers who had sold sugarcane to these two mills, of late, have been deep in loans. Some of them have started selling their sugarcane farmlands to pay loans to their creditors.
Ram Pratap Mahato Koiri of Dhankaul Rural Municipality, Mahinathpur, said that he had to face a lot of hardships as the sugarcane mill did not pay him.
“After not getting payment from the mill, I took loan to run my house,” said Mahato, who had come to ask for his payment from Annapurna Sugarcane Mill. “I had to sell my farm to pay the loan. I am now working as a labourer to run my house.”
Although sugarcane grown this year have been drying in farmlands, the farmers have said that they would not sell sugarcane to sugarmills.
“We will not sell our sugarcanes to the mill unless they clear our dues,” said Ram Prabesh Pandit of Bishnu Rural Municipality-6.
After getting promises of due payment from Indushankar Sugar Mill of Hariban and Everest Sugar Mill of Mahottari, some of the farmers have started selling sugarcane to these mills.
Mayor of Godaita Municipality, Debendra Yadav, who is also a sugarcane farmer, said that Malalakshmi Sugar mill would not be permitted to operate unless it cleared all the dues.
“A discussion between the farmers and mill was held on Thursday on our initiative,” said Yadav. “As the farmers showed anaggressive mood, we could not reach a conclusion.”
Industrialist Kanaudiya, representing the sugar mill, said that the mill was not able to pay the farmers due to lower selling rates of sugar. Kanaudiya requested the farmers to have patience for a few days. Alleging Kanaudiya of making various excuses todelay the payment, the aggressive farmers even tried to attack him.
Kapilmuni Mainali, Chairman of Nepal Sugarcane Producers Federation, said that failure of the mills to make payment despite of making various promises had made the farmers more aggressive.
Likewise, sugarcane farmers of Bara and Parsa have been facing hardships after the Sugar mills of the districts conspired not to pay them.
Farmers have accused Reliance Sugar Chemical Industries Private Limited of Kalaiya Sub-metropolis, Bara, for conspiring to gulp up over Rs. 15 million.
Birendra Kushwaha, Chairman of Farmer’s Federation, Bara, said, “Reliance mill had purchased sugarcane for Rs. 536 per quintal on credit, in Fiscal Year 074/75. The mill hasn’t paid Rs. 10,450,000 to the farmers.”
Farmers of Bara and Parsa had sold almost 3 million quintals of sugarcane to the mills.