Farmers, employees worried over Ganapati Sugar Factory’s lockout

HYDERABAD: Sugarcane farmers and employees of Ganapati Sugar Factory (GSF) in Sangareddy are eagerly waiting for the factory’s reopening after a lockout was declared on May 27. The crushing season is scheduled to begin in the middle of November. Efforts by elected representatives and officials for reopening the factory have gone in vain.

The management-employees row began over revision of wage agreement, which was due in March 2021. After the management reportedly refused to do so, the employees went on a 34-day strike amid talks between management and the employees union in the presence of labour department officials. The factory management lodged a complaint against the association members for allegedly threatening them and declaring a lockout.

In the three intervening months, an employee Jayachandra committed suicide on September 8. GSF employees’ association general secretary P. Srisailam said that the management had made seven wage revision agreements but was reluctant last year.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, the association president and BJP legislator M. Raghunandan Rao said that the factory will be reopened soon. The management illegally declared a lock out, throwing employees and farmers into trouble, he said.

Established by Kolkata businessman Arun Kumar Lohiya in 1996 and with a crushing capacity of 5000 metric tonnes per day, the factory provided regular employment to 238 persons. Sugarcane is being cultivated over 35,000 acres in Sangareddy, Vikarabad, Medak and Rangareddy districts.

Cultivated in around 12,000 acres, nearly 2.79 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane is expected in the present crushing season.

When contacted, a senior official of GSF Govind Rao said that the issue was pending with the labour department.