Sugarcane farmers fear loss due to factory mishap

Sugarcane farmers in south Orissa’s Ganjam district fear huge loss due to stoppage of crushing at the Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries Limited (ASIL) where a mishap claimed three lives last week.

Operations were stopped in the factory after one of the tanks, containing molasses, developed cracks. The molasses spilled over to several places including two staff quarters, where three persons, a woman and two children, were killed.

The possibility of restarting operations of the factory in the near future seems bleak as it has no extra tank to stock the molasses.

Meanwhile, the Ganjam district sugarcane growers’ association has urged the factory authorities to compensate for loss of the farmers.

The factory started its operations from December 22 last year and aimed to crush around 160,000 tonnes of sugarcane. Around 57,800 tonnes have been crushed so far.

“The harvested sugarcane, lying in the field and factory premises, will be dried up if it is not processed immediately. The factory authorities should compensate the farmers for their loss,” said general secretary of the association, Samir Pradhan.

Around 1,000 tonnes of sugarcane were lying in the factory premises while 4,000 tonnes of the crop were on the field as the processing stopped after the mishap, sources said.

“We are planning to sell some quantities of molasses after seeking permission from the government,” said managing director of the factory B K Sahu. Around 7000 tonnes of molasses were stocked in three tanks.

Meanwhile, the labour leaders raised doubts over the safety of other molasses-loaded tanks.

“We can’t rule out the repeat of such mishap,” said Lalit Mohan Das, vice president of the Sugar Industries Labour Union.

The factory has four tanks, each with capacity of each 3,000 tonnes to stock the molasses produced after the processing of sugarcane.

Das said he had raised doubts over the safety of the tanks last year and sought clarification from the factory authorities under Right to Information Act. Even though the factory authorities assured that the tanks were safe, one of them developed crack.

Non-maintenance of the tanks for last several years was the main cause of the recent mishap, alleged another trade union leader Narayan Jena. The labour leaders have demanded immediate safety measures for the old tanks.

“We will take decision on the safety measures of the tanks after getting the report of the Director of the Factories and Boilers,” a senior officer of the factory said.