The crushing operations at the State-owned Mysore Sugar Company or Mysugar factory got off to a start in Mandya on Friday with Minister in-charge of Mandya district N. Cheluvarayaswamy and Sugar Minister Shivananda Patil inaugurating the process.
After a special puja at the factory, the dignitaries prayed for the smooth crushing season at the factory which has been restored to its past glory, bringing smiles back on the faces of farmers in the district.
While thanking Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for allocating funds to the factory’s revival, Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy, who is Minister for Agriculture, said the government was supporting the factory for the welfare of Mandya farmers. “A sum of ₹50 crore has been released and there are no hurdles for the smooth operations of the factory. The full-fledged crushing season will commence by June-end,” he added.
The Sugar Minister urged farmers to supply sugarcane to the factory and said the responsibility of making payments to farmers lies on the government. The government will give the price that is offered by the private factories to the farmers for supplying their produce. “Have full faith in the government and supply your produce to the factory,” he urged.
Mr. Patil said the factory has suffered losses last year since crushing was not to its full potential. “The loss can be overcome if more sugarcane was supplied to the factory and more crushing happens. The government is committed to address any other issues affecting the factory’s operations,” he told the gathering.
MLAs Ravikumar Ganiga, Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda and others were present.
The 90-year-old factory had to suspend its operations after facing losses and multiple problems. After a prolonged closure, it commenced operations last year. The factory was established during the rule of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar in 1933.
After several failed attempts to bring the factory on track, with several private players evincing interest in taking over Mysugar, the Basavaraj Bommai government announced a decision to revive the factory and ₹50 crore was announced in the Budget for its restoration, bringing hope to sugarcane growers in Mandya.
Mysugar’s revival was expected to largely help growers in Mandya as they were transporting sugarcane to neighboring districts despite Mandya having factories, including Pandavapura sugar factory whose operations were recently taken over by Nirani Sugars, because of higher output.
In Karnataka, there are about 70 sugar factories and only two or three were run by the government while the remaining ones were either managed by private ownership or cooperatives. Some of Mysugar factory’s machinery have outlasted their service as their frequent breakdown impacted productivity, resulting in its losses.
