Telangana polls: Politicians milk long shut Nizam sugar factory

 

Telangana’s Nizam Sugar Factory (NSF) is back to haunt the politicians vying for power in the upcoming state election.

 

The 80-year-old factory of Nizam Deccan Sugars Limited in the state’s Nizamabad was shut in late 2015 over alleged mismanagement and falling sugarcane cultivation, depriving many farmers and workers of employment.

 

Four years later, it has become a contentious poll issue for the ruling K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)-led TRS, the Congress and other opposition parties in three constituencies---Kamareddy, Bodhan (where the factory is situated) and Banaswadi.

The affected workers have long been demanding reopening of the factory, even going on hunger strikes and rallies. In 2014, when Telangana was created out of Andhra Pradesh with KCR as its first CM, he had promised to restore the factory to its former glory – except that he didn’t.

 

On the other hand, the TDP was in power in Andhra Pradesh in 2002 when Nizam Deccan Sugars, which operates the factory, was privatised and soon became beset with troubles.

 

Today, the abandoned factory - established in 1937 on around 15,000 acres by the last Nizam of Hyderabad and the largest sugar factory of Asia at that time - stands as a testament to political meddling and false promises.

 

History

 

Located in the aptly-named Shakkar Nagar, NSF provided employment to around 3,000 people, and benefited thousands of sugarcane farmers as the company opened units in Metpally and Medak.

 

Until 2002, Nizam Deccan Sugars was under government control. That year, the Naidu government privatised the company, taking 49 per cent share. From 2002 onwards, the factory’s management and the TDP government faced criticism over irregularities as the company fell into losses.

 

Locals say the factory’s decline was due to irregular working hours and lack of discipline among workers, while TRS workers allege that it was due to the illegal activities of then Congress MLA Sudharshan Reddy and the TDP government. Reddy was accused of illegally selling land belonging to the factory in collusion with the ruling government.

  

When the factory’s workers were finally laid off, the hard times were blamed on lack of water and declining cane production.

 

But many refuse to believe that.

 

“The layoffs were announced in December 2015 but the distillery unit, that requires a lot more water than the sugar unit, was running until October,” says S Kumara Swamy, who worked in the factory for 30 years and leads the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

 

Once voted to power, KCR’s government did try to take over administrative control of the company, but in late 2015, private partner Delta Sugars announced layoffs and the factory and its units were subsequently closed, hitting at the region’s economy and ending livelihoods.  

 

Once the factory was closed, many workers migrated from Shakkar Nagar, a colony that had been built especially for them, yet they yearn for the old days.

 

Workers’ plight

 

“During my childhood, it would take me 15 minutes to cross the road in the evening when workers would return home on their cycles. Now it’s all empty,” says K Praveen Kumar, sadly pointing to the empty road in front of his hair saloon.

 

Over four years, the laid-off employees have held many protests, visited all possible government offices and met politicians - but in vain.

 

“Whenever CM KCR or Kavita (CM’s daughter and Nizamabad MP) or any TRS politician comes to Bodhan, the police take all workers in custody until the meeting is over. Don't we have the right to question?” wonders V Saidu, a cobbler who once worked in the factory’s mechanical department. He now sits in front of the Bodhan bus station with his mending tools, waiting for customers.

 

“For three years I didn’t have any income as I spent time at government offices, meeting political leaders including the CM, but no one responded to our pleas. Tired of all that, I now work as a cobbler and earn Rs 100-200 a day. I run my family on this meagre income,” he rues.

 

The cane farmers, left high and dry after the factory’s closure, shifted to paddy cultivation – a crop that requires even more water, is less resistant and not as profitable. The result: They grow cane on 10,000 acres yielding 30,000 tonnes of sugar, while earlier they used to produce 9 to 10.5 lakh tonnes of cane on an average every year on 3 to 3.5 lakh acres.

 

Hopes for revival?

 

Ahead of the Assembly elections, NSF’s revival has again become a talking point for all parties. Candidates can be heard promising to reopen the factory if they come to power.

 

But TRS state leaders are tightlipped as the continued closure of the factory remains the party’s biggest failure.

 

Addressing a public meeting in Bodhan recently, the CM spoke about water supply through Nizam sagar, Raithu Bandu schemes and power supply. But he skipped mentioning the sugar factory.

 

Yet TRS’ local candidates insist on raising the hopes of the agitated workers.

 

“The TRS government has paid Rs 65 crore dues to the workers. KCR has tried his best to reopen the factory. He formed committees and they went to other factories to observe their functioning, Despite his efforts, he could not get the factory reopened during his tenure as farmers are not in a position to grow sugarcane now due to water scarcity and high cost of production,” says Md Hamaz, father of MLA Shakil Aamir and TRS worker, pointing out that the “TRS government opened Sirpur Paper Mills in Adilabad and will try its best to open NSF too”. 

Hamaz said that the factory had 18,000 acres of land given by the Nizam to grow sugarcane, but all the valuable chunks were sold to friends and relatives of TDP leaders.

Leaders of the Congress, too, while criticising the TRS government over its failure, assure the people they would reopen the factory.

 

“The TRS government has deceived workers and farmers dependent on the factory. Given a chance, we will clear all the issues necessary to open the factory,” says B Ganga Shankar, Bodhan Mandal Parishad president from the Congress.

 

People angry with the TRS government are keener to believe the Congress this time.

 

“KCR and Shakil (local MLA) deceived us in the last election,” says Saidu. “Shakil told us he would hang himself if they don’t take over the factory within 100 days. So I asked him when he had come for votes, ‘how many lives do you have?’. The other day, (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi assured us that he would reopen the factory, and we are confident the Congress will do that.”

 

Some people are taking all these promises with a pinch of salt.

 

CITU leader Swamy pointed out that the National Company Law Tribunal has issued orders to liquidate Nizam Deccan Sugars.

 

“Most of our people, who do not understand this, still believe the factory will be reopened. The previous day, when Sudharshan Reddy (now a Congress candidate) came here and said he would get the factory reopened, all the workers clapped,” Swamy explained, sorrowfully.