‘State set to revive Plassey Sugar Mill’

KOLKATA: The state government is all set to revive the Plassey Sugar Mill which has been shut for the past five years. This will help the local farmers get additional income.

Senior officials of the sugar mill factory said that the sugar mill, one of the largest in the state, was a vital source of income for around 3,500 sugarcane farmers who cultivated sugarcane on approximately 1,200 hectares of land. However, the closure of the mill in 2017 left the farmers in dire straits, forcing them to diversify into multiple crops, including paddy, jute, mustard and vegetables. As it is a private organisation, the state government has not yet interfered in the matter.

A senior officer of the sugar mill factory said: “The mill was closed due to financial constraints. The mill owner now wants to sell to another private organisation for its revival. The revival plan has already been approved and the work will start from the last week of January.”

The mill, originally established in 1937-38 by the Anderson Wright Company, was later acquired by an industrial group, which converted it into a sugar mill named Plassey Sugar.

With 18 firms and an expansive 18,000 bighas of land, the mill had become a focal point of economic activities in the region. Reports of theft of machine parts during the years of closure had plagued the mill, reflecting the struggles it faced during its non-operational period.