New Minister of Cooperation and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Surjya Narayan Patro has said that the three sick cooperative sugar mills in the State would be revived soon.
Talking to reporters after a meeting at the State Secretariat on Wednesday, he said that one cooperative sugar factory in the State is in Bargarh district and another at Aska. One more is in Balangir district set up by the Bijayanand Patnaik self-help group (SHG) which has borrowed a hefty amount from bank and is now on the verge of closure.
Chief Secretary AP Padhi and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Patro said, “Sugar factory caters to the cash crop profit of the sugarcane farmers. As per the latest reports, every sugar industry has been accruing loss for the last seven years. As the factories are related to farmers’ livelihood, we deliberated on how to make them function properly.”
“There are reports that some people have moved the High Court as regards the Bijayanand Patnaik Sugar Factory. The High Court has ordered a stay on it. However, keeping in view the interest of farmers of Balangir, Bargarh and Ganjam districts, we held a primary discussion on how to make it functional again. If there will be a management, it would be a professional one,” he said.