Ahead of polls, UP sugarcane crushing season gains momentum
With barely a couple of months left for the high-stake 2022 assembly elections, the sugarcane crushing season is gaining momentum in UP, India’s biggest sugar producer. “Strict instructions” have been given to sugar mills for speedy cane price payment in the current crushing season and for regular monitoring of the payment situation.
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With barely a couple of months left for the high-stake 2022 assembly elections, the sugarcane crushing season is gaining momentum in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India’s biggest sugar producer.
The sugarcane crop, especially in the Western UP districts, plays an important role in the political fortunes of political parties during polls. This has assumed a greater significance in the backdrop of the ongoing farm protests and the repeal of the three contentious central farm laws, which were aimed at liberalizing the farm marketing landscape.
According to UP cane and sugar commissioner Sanjay Bhoosreddy, “strict instructions” have been given to sugar mills for speedy cane price payment in the current crushing season and for regular monitoring of the payment situation.
“In view of instructions regarding speedy payment, Rs 553 crore has been paid to cane farmers against the total dues of Rs 510 crore for the current crushing season 2021-22, which is about Rs 43 crore higher than the arrears of the season,” he informed.
So far, more than 92 of the nearly 120 sugar mills in UP have started crushing operations in the public and private sectors. Of the major private sector mills, the units of Bajaj, Balrampur, Simbhaoli, Dwarkesh, Dhampur, Triveni, Dalmia etc have started functioning.
The remaining mills are expected to start their crushing operations soon, he added.
In the election season, the Yogi Adityanath government does not want to give any handle to the opposition parties to corner it during poll campaigning. As such, the state is taking proactive steps to ensure that the payments are prompt so that the farm community is kept in good humour lest it impact the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the hustings.
