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Factory infrastructure in disarray for want of care
Physical infrastructure, including some expensive equipment, of now-liquidated Birgunj Sugar Mill and Agriculture Tool Factory are in disarray for want of proper care.Physical infrastructure, including some expensive equipment, of now-liquidated Birgunj Sugar Mill and Agriculture Tool Factory are in disarray for want of proper care.
The government has assigned some staffers for the protection of machinery and other infrastructure at both the factories, which were built with Russian support. However, the staffers say they are too few in number to take proper care of the equipment.
The sugar mill has an administrative manager, a security in-charge, an electrician and 14 security guards.
Abadh Kishor Singh, administrative manager at the sugar mill, said it has been difficult to save the equipment spread across 52 bighas of land occupied by the factory with a limited number of security guards.
“There were 122 security guards when the factory was operating,” said Singh.
The staffers said the presence of the Border Security Force of the Armed Police Force (APF) near the factory for the last decade helped them protect the factory equipment to some extent.
But as the APF station is being relocated to another place from mid-April, the staffers fear a possible rise in the theft of the factory property.
The sugar mill had a capacity of crushing 1,500 tonnes of sugarcane daily. It had 924 permanent staffers and 300 daily-wage workers during its heyday. After its liquidation, about 800 staffers quit jobs under voluntary retirement scheme. The rest of the staffers are fighting case in the court demanding more compensation.
The situation at the Agriculture Tool Factory is even worse. The government has mobilised 10 staffers—a security in-charge and nine security guards—for the protection of the equipment and other property of the factory spread across 10 bighas of land.
The factory was established in 1968 and was privatised in 1998. The government bought it back after the private sector failed to operate. However, the government too was not able to run the factory.
“I have sent a letter to the authority concerned requesting to increase the number of staffers,” said Manohar Gautam, security in-charge.
As the factory has not been operational for a long, the building is in a dilapidated state. The walls of the building have sustained cracks due to last year’s earthquake.