Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 16:
Though commissioned in 1975 amidst great optimism and fanfare by the State Government to give a boost to the economy of the State, the Khansari Sugar Factory at Khangabok has been lying idle for a long time due to non-availability of raw material.
Thanks to Government apathy and lack of foresight, work at the factory has been put on complete halt within 3 years of commissioning it, as there is an acute shortage of raw material and the worst part is the Government has not taken up any initiative to make the raw material available.
Sources disclosed to The Sangai Express that the Government of Manipur has also not taken any keen interest to encourage the farmers to increase sugar-cane productivity.
Government of Manipur, through its Commerce and Industries Department had sanctioned an amount of Rs 13 lakhs for the factory.
It was commissioned in 1975 and has the capacity of crushing 6000 tonne of sugarcane in a day, though the fact that it has never worked to its fullest capacity is altogether another story, sources further said.
It is said that though long years of neglect and rust has taken its toil on some of the machines of the Khansari Sugar Factory, all of them are still in good condition.
Some minor repairing works are all that would be needed to make the machine work again and chum out sugar, added the source.
The only impediment is non-availability of raw material, sources said, suggesting that if the State Government really wants to revive the factory it should encourage sugarcane growers and societies by forwarding financial loans and other technical assistance.
Talking to The Sangai Express, Assistant Manager of the factory, L Ibohal confirmed that all the machines are still in good condition and only minor repair is needed.
All that is required to put the factory on its feet again is adequate raw material, he said, asserting that not only the employees but also sugarcane cultivators would be benefited if the factory is put into operation again.