MUZAFFARGARH: The sugarcane crushing season will start from Nov 15, while the government has Exed Rs180 per maund as the rate for purchase of the crop.

Meanwhile, Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills had last year withheld Rs100 million of the farmers.

The mill was illegally shifted from Nankana Sahib to Jatoi tehsil in Muzaffargarh.

Last year, the Supreme Court had ordered the halting of crushing, but later when the farmers demanded its resumption, the court ordered purchase of cane from farmers at fixed rates. But the mill administration had stopped payments to farmers.

A large number of people, including farmers,protested and claimed that the sugarcane season was around the corner but the government had shut down the bridges leading to Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts.

Syed Ahmad Shah Bukhari of Jatoi tehsil said that every year, millions of tonnes of sugarcane were taken to others districts along Head Panjnad, but that would not be possible this time.

Dera Ghazi Khan superintending engineer of the irrigation department, Mian Abid Hussain, told Dawn that barrages of Head Panjnad and others will be upgraded, while the district administration claimed that the barrage would be closed for about 18 months for upgrading. It added that the administration was working on providing alternative routes for light traffic.