Tamil Nadu farmers cut off sugarcane supply to Thanjavur mill over Rs 32 crore arrears

Thanjavur: Two days after state-owned Arignar Anna Sugar Mill warned farmers of legal action if they did not register their crop for the crushing season, farmers said they would not give supplies to the mill until arrears are settled. P Ramasamy, president, AASM sugarcane producers association, who participated in the talks farmers had on Friday with T Mohanraj, CEO of the mill, said AASM owed them around Rs 32 crore as arrears of Rs 450 per tonne of sugarcane, supplied based on the State Advisory Price for 2015-16 and 2016-17. The farmers said they would not supply sugarcane if the mill did not clear dues before commencement of the crushing season. They also threatened not to grow sugarcane for the next season if the mill failed to pay the arrears and asked AASM why it could not follow the example of another mill in Sethiathoppu, which had paid arrears by availing a loan. Later they walked out the meeting and staged a protest.