Sugarcane farmers in Sarlahi have warned they will intensify protests if their demands to increase the sugarcane rates and the reopening of a sugar factory fail to materialise.

The sugar factory had been closed in the peak sugarcane crushing season due to dispute over the sugarcane rates. Farmers are demanding to fix the sugarcane rate at Rs545 per quintal for this season.

As per the plan, cane farmers will organise a mass rally infront of Indu Shankar Sugar Mill in Hariban and submit a memorandum at the local administration on Friday. The If the mill and the local administration fail to address their demands, farmers said they would launch protests from next week.  A meeting chaired by Nepal Sugarcane Producers Federation President Kapilmuni Mainali on Wednesday decided to exert pressure on Indu Shankar Sugar Mill to resume its operation within a week, said Raj Kumar Upreti, a farmer leader. “The mill used to operate three weeks ago. But currently, it is reluctant to open its door,” he said. “As a result, sugarcane have started drying in the fields.” 

He said that farmers have not received the state subsidy in sugarcane as well.  Sarlahi alone produces 8 million quintals of sugarcane annually worth more than Rs4 billion. Sugarcane is the key income source for farmers in Sarlahi. Sugarcane is cultivated on 24,000 hectares of land in Sarlahi district.