Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Bargarh MP Pradip Purohit met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and invited him to inaugurate the bio-ethanol plant of BPCL in the western Odisha district.
During the meeting, Purohit submitted a letter seeking the Centre’s intervention for the revival of the defunct Bargarh Cooperative Sugar Mill.
According to Purohit, Shah assured him that necessary steps would be taken for the revival of Bargarh sugar mill.
The Bargarh Cooperative Sugar Mill is located at Tora on 104 acres of land. The sugar mill has remained closed since April 2017 due to management irregularities and financial problems. Although Indian Potash Limited had expressed interest in reviving the unit on November 16, 2022, the process was formally closed on October 16, 2023
The prolonged closure has affected the livelihood of hundreds of employees and sugarcane farmers. Sugarcane cultivation in the region has also almost come to a halt, causing economic hardship to farming families, the MP said.
The parliamentarian urged Shah to direct the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to hand over the 104-acre facility to Indian Potash Limited or another capable cooperative organisation for setting up a modern and integrated sugar mill.
Purohit said the revival of the sugar mill, along with the commissioning of the bio-ethanol plant, could give fresh momentum to Bargarh’s agriculture-based economy. Both projects were crucial for increasing farmers’ income, accelerating industrial development and creating employment opportunities for the youth in the region, he said.
The Lok Sabha member also highlighted the significance of BPCL’s second-generation integrated bio-ethanol plant established in Bargarh at an investment of around Rs 1,775 crore. The first-of-its-kind facility in eastern India has a production capacity of 200 kilolitres of fuel per day under the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana.
The plant will use paddy straw and other agricultural residues as raw materials. The project will increase farmers’ income by providing an additional market for agricultural waste while promoting environmental protection, generating employment and strengthening the rural economy.
Considering its importance, Purohit requested Shah to visit Bargarh and inaugurate the facility.
He also invited the Union Minister to visit the historic Gandhamardan Hills and the Nrusinghanath Temple. He briefed Shah on the historical, religious and environmental significance of the Gandhamardan mountain range.