Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday inaugurated a co-operative sugar factory with sugarcane crushing capacity of 2500 metric tonnes in Kabirdham district.
The factory will be constructed at Biseshar village of Pandaria block at a cost of `163.12 crore.The factory premises would be spread in an area measuring over 80 hectares.“Over 10,000 farmers in this region are the stock holders in this factory and thus they are its real owners,” the Chief Minister said while addressing the farmers .Singh, on the occasion,also distributed certificates among stock holder farmers.
He called upon farmers to take interest in sugarcane production apart from paddy cultivation. The CM hopes that the acreage of sugarcane will increase in the region.
Earlier the farmers extended warm welcome to the Chief Minister at the foundation laying ceremony conducted at the factory site.
Notably this is the fourth sugar factory of the State and second in Kabirdham district based on Cooperative modal. The two other sugar factories are already functioning at Kerta of Surajpur district and Karkabhat of Balod.
This factory, which has been named after India’s Iron man Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, will benefit about 20,000 farmers living in Pandaria region of Kabirdham districts besides Mungeli and Bemetara districts.
The sugar factory will also produce about 14 MW of power through biomass produced by the factory which is sufficient enough to power about 20,000 houses. The foundation laying ceremony was marked with presence of Cooperative and Culture Minister Dayaldas Baghel, Agriculture and Water Resource Minister Brijmohan Agrawal and others.
In July, the Kabeerdham district administration had prepared a working plan to ensure smooth purchase of sugarcane from farmers at Bhoramdeo sugar mill at Kawardha.
The district administration is expecting bumper sugarcane produce between 10 to 11 lakh metric tonnes in the district this season.