With an enhanced crushing capacity of 3000 TCD at the Bhogpur Cooperative Sugar Mills, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa today started crushing season 2021-22 during which nearly 36 lakh quintals sugarcane would be crushed.Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who also holds Cooperation portfolio, also laid the foundation stone of two major projects including 15 MW electricity generation plant and bio CNG plant at an outlay of Rs. 30 crore each.Giving details of the said projects, the Cooperation Minister said that the 15 MW power generation plant would be immensely beneficial to ensure proper utilisation of stubble, thus paving a way to providing crop residue management solution at larger scale. He also mentioned that the plant would cater to the needs of farmers hailing within the radius of 20 kilometers from the standpoint of stubble management. He added that during the current season electricity worth Rs. 16 crore would be sold out by this plant which would further aid in the income of this sugar mill adding that the plant would now work throughout the year.
Likewise, the deputy chief minister also laid the foundation stone of a CNG based bio gas plant here at the cost of Rs. 30 crore which would produce four tons of bio CNG daily with an average consumption of crop residue up to 100 tons on a daily basis. He also directed the officials to ensure supply of bio CNG through pipelines in the nearby vicinity. Accompanied by Chairman Technical Education Board Mohinder Singh Kaypee, MLA Pawan Kumar Aadiya, Congress Leader Kanwaljit Singh Lali, Randhawa announced that the capacity of this mill would further be enhanced to 5000 tons per day from the existing capacity of 3000 TPD with an aim to achieve the target of processing 46 lakh tons sugarcane by 2023-24. He also stated that by next crushing season the capacity to be increased to 36 lakh qunitals from the existing capacity of 26 lakh quintals of sugarcane per season. He also announced that crops of farmers belonging to Phagwara region would also be processed here.Throwing light on the initiatives to rejuvenate sugar mills across state, which were non viable and in shamble during previous SAD-BJP government, the deputy chief minister said that a whopping amount of Rs. 600 crores was being spent to ramp up infrastructure at sugar mills at Batala and Gurdaspur region along with a research centre aimed at improving the quality of seeds of sugarcane. He also directed the officials to ensure compete transparent in distribution of slips to farmers for getting their crop procured so that the crushing season could be accomplished in a seamless manner.
Meanwhile, welcoming the deputy chief minister, Chairman Technical Education Board Mohinder Singh Kaypee said that with the enhancement of the capacity of this sugar mill, the much-awaited demands of the farmers of this region were fulfilled. He thanked the Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi led Punjab Government for its endeavors towards reviving the sugar mill infrastructure in the state. Ex-MLA Kanwaljeet Singh Lally also thanked the Cooperation Minister for his personal intervention and initiatives to make the sugar mills viable in the state.Earlier the deputy CM handed over appointment letters to as many as 18 persons on compassion grounds who got the job after decades of waiting.Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included special principle secretary Cooperation Varun Roojam, MD Sugarfed Punjab Rajiv Kumar Gupta, GM Sugarfed Punjab Kanwaljit Toor, Chairman Bhopur Sugar Mill Paramvir Singh, Directors Paramjit Singh, Gurdawar Ram, Harjinder Singh, Manjit Singh, Harjinder Singh, Satpal, and GM Bhogpur Sugar Mill Arun Kumar Arora.