No visible efforts yet to resume operation of Pabna Sugar Mills

PABNA, Dec 27: The Industries Ministry had lifted the moratorium on December 15 last year to restart operation of the Pabna Sugar Mills after it stopped production five years ago; but a year has already gone by since the announcement to restart operation of the factory in the second phase and there has been no visible progress as yet.

Since it has been closed, machinery worth about Tk 800 million (Tk 80 crore) has been destroyed, and the mill has accumulated a debt of Tk 5.53 billion (Tk 553 crore).

Even though production has been stopped, the employees have to be paid regular salaries and allowances. Those concerned are demanding the mill to restart production quickly.

According to relevant sources, Pabna Sugar Mills was established in December 1992 on 60 acres of land at Dashuria in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district at a cost of Tk 1.25 billion (Tk 125 crore).

After trial production in 1997 and 1998, commercial production started the following year.

To keep the operation running, the interest on loans taken from various banks and organisations has been pushed up over time, and it currently stands at Tk5. 536 billion (Tk 553 crore 60 lakh). The mill was declared closed on December 1, 2020 due to unprofitable activities.

The accounting section of the mill said that even in the year of production shutdown, the mill produced about 6,500 tonnes of sugar. But due to the shutdown of production, about Tk 450 million (Tk 45 crore) is being added to the interest loan every year.

Meanwhile, the mill also has to bear a large amount of expenses in salaries and allowances of officials and employees. Tk 5.90 billion (Tk 590 crore) was spent for the purposes in the 2021-22 fiscal year, about Tk 2.37 billion (Tk 237 crore) in the 2022-23 fiscal year, Tk 20 million (Tk 2 crore) in the 2023-24 fiscal year and Tk 2.15 billion (Tk 215 crore) in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Currently, 30 security personnel are engaged in protecting the mill' machinery, expenditure for whose monthly salary stands at 0.563 million. In addition, a total of 23 people, including administration, accounting, factory, sugarcane department and class IV employees, are performing regular duties. However, 1,200 workers and employees used to work in this mill during normal times.

It was seen on the spot that the once-busy factory is now abandoned and dilapidated.

Sugarcane trucks and trolleys are covered in weeds, most of the vehicles are rusted and useless. The roofs of the godowns and tin sheds are sagging, and there are extensive cracks in the walls. The boiler house, crusher, donga, ruler, bearings and other key production equipment are rapidly getting damaged. An employee said, "The fields you see now are covered in bushes. Once these places were busy with sugarcane trucks and people walking. Farmers would return with smiles on their faces after loading their sugarcane. After the closure of the mill, that scene is no more." According to the mill authorities, there were eight sugarcane zones under the mill, including Ishwardi, in the Pabna region, where 5-5.5 thousand farmers cultivated sugarcane on 6,000 acres of land. After the closure of the mill, most of the farmers have moved away from sugarcane cultivation.

Concern is growing among them as no effective steps have been taken even after the announcement to restart operation of the mill.

Pabna Sugar Mill Sugarcane Welfare Association president and national gold medalist farmer Shahjahan Ali Badsha told The Financial Express, "We have written to the Industrial Adviser on behalf of the farmers. But we have not received any response. Even after a year of the announcement, there is no progress in the work. We are demanding the mill to be restarted soon."

Pabna Sugar Mills Limited Managing Director Md. Akhtaruzzaman told The Financial Express, "The Industries Ministry lifted the moratorium on sugarcane threshing on December 17, 2024. After that, no further instructions were received regarding the operation of the mill." motiarfe@gmail.com