Sant Gopalbuva Maharaj sugar factory at Rameshwar starts crushing; cane price set at ₹3,151 to ₹3,351 a tonne

Latur: The private Sant Shri Gopalbuva Maharaj Sugar and Agro Food Industries at Rameshwar in Latur taluka began its second crushing season on Sunday, October 11. The season was launched at 11 am, an auspicious time on ghatasthapana day, when four religious leaders dropped a bundle of cane into the crusher. The factory was set up at the urging of cane growers in the Latur Rural constituency.

Chairman Rajesh Karad announced this season's cane prices: ₹3,151 a tonne for cane crushed between October 11 and November 15, ₹3,251 for cane between December 1 and January 15, and ₹3,351 for cane brought in after January 15. For Diwali, member farmers and those who supplied cane last year will get 10 kg of jaggery powder at ₹30 a kg, and he announced a 7 per cent pay rise and a 10 per cent Diwali bonus for employees and Diwali snacks every year for cane cutters.

Saying the factory was on the right path without competing with anyone, Karad issued an open challenge on weighing: farmers could weigh their cane at any outside weighbridge, and if the factory's scale showed a different weight, the factory would shut that same day. The factory's chief promoters Tulshiram (Anna) Karad and Kashiram (Nana) Karad and other office-bearers were present, and the religious leaders prayed for an end to the drought.

Source: Hindusthan Samachar