Sugarcane growers of the region, who are yet to get payment for their last crop, are a worried lot as private sugar mill owners have decided to close their mills this season.

The move will not only put an extra burden on government sugar mills but also pose inconvenience to farmers for getting slips from these sugar mills to sell their produce.

Earlier, farmers of Fatehgarh Sahib, Ropar and Mohali districts used to send their sugarcane for crushing to Amloh-based private mill Nahar Sugar Mill. But now, they will have to take their produce to Cooperative Sugar Mill in Morinda. There was a considerable increase in the number of farmers who used to take their produce to the private mill at Amloh due to easy access and prompt payment. Data from the Agriculture Department says about 7,410 acres of land in Fatehgarh Sahib district alone is under sugarcane cultivation, out of which 2,515 acres are in Khamanon Block, 1,592 in Amloh block, 1,290 in Bassi Pathana, 1,062 in Sirhind block and 950 in Khera block. About 26 lakh tonne sugarcane is likely to be produced in the district.

State president of the Bharti Kisan Union Ekta (Sidhupur) Pishoura Singh Sidhupur said the crushing season begins in October but this time it can be delayed as the state government has failed to resolve the issue with private sugar mills.

He alleged that private sugar mill owners want to pressurise the government to impose tax on sugar by closing their mills. He said this would only benefit the mill owners but it would put an extra burden on consumers.