Farmers are hopeful that Shriram Sugar Mill located in Garuda Municipality-5, which has been closed for a long time, will be operational. Recently, the farmers became optimistic after the mill owner said that the mill can be operated if they can manage the liabilities of banks, employees and suppliers.

The management side of the mill, which is owned by the trading house Golcha Group, has lost crores of rupees and has closed the mill since July 10, 2077 citing the compelling situation. After the representatives of the political parties in the district, sugarcane farmers' continuous agitation and even the government took the initiative for the operation of the mill, the management side said that the process of operation of the mill will be started only after the problem of matching the liabilities is resolved.

The mill cannot be operated in the current situation. Now we have to go to new technology and operate only. For that, crores will be spent," said Ramesh Dahal, the representative of the mill, "There is nothing that will be operational immediately. But if the problem of liability can be solved, the owner plans to operate in the near future. For this, everything has to be agreed. After the closure of the mill, showing the state of debt, the central office of Nepal Bank Limited held an auction for 43 crores a year and a half ago.

The manager of the center's debt recovery department, Yagyamurthy Basyal, came to understand the situation by auctioning the parts of the mill. As soon as the team reached the Shriram Sugar Mill premises, the farmers surrounded it. The bank should have understood the condition of the goods and prepared to take them away. But the timing was not as favorable as the team expected. As soon as they came to know that the bank's team had reached the mill premises, a group of farmers came to surround them. The bank team was not allowed to enter.

The Garuda team of the local police office immediately rescued the bank representatives and took them to the office. The farmers were adamant that they would not take away the mill goods under any circumstances. They demanded cancellation of the auction conducted by the bank. According to the information provided by the central office of the bank, the auction process has been canceled and the amount has been returned to the person who took the money.

Ashok Yadav, President of Sugarcane Producers Association, Rautahat, said that they are hopeful because the bank has canceled the auction and the mill owners are positive. "Still, we are ready to help the mill operator in whatever way," he said, "The farmers here are ready to help to run the mill." We are happy now. Farmers of the district are united after the closure of the mill. They have been appealing to the Prime Minister, various political parties, parliamentarians, ministers and people's representatives. Under the leadership of Sugarcane Producers Association Rautahat, the farmers from all over the district met the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, President of United Samajwadi Party and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and the then Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat and requested them to start the initiative for the operation of Garuda Mill.

The foundation stone was laid in 2049 and the mill started crushing sugarcane from 2051. According to the Sugarcane Producers Association, there are 16,000 sugarcane farmers in the district since the establishment of the mill. The farmers have been agitating for the re-operation of the mill owned by the Golcha group after the management side closed it citing the loss of crores and the forced situation.

Every year, the industry is suffering crores of losses and the management side has said that the mill has to be closed because there is a lack of funds even to pay the minimum wage to the workers and employees working in the industry. Chairman of Sugarcane Producers' Association Yadav said that 325 seasonal, regular and contractual employees lost their jobs when the mill, which had been in continuous operation for 26 years, was closed. He is also the coordinator of Mil Bachau Sangharsh Samiti. A few days ago, under the leadership of the

association, the farmers from across the district, carrying sugarcane plants in their hands, reached the district administration and submitted a memorandum demanding the cancellation of the mill operation and the unauthorized tender. Madhesh MP Krishna Yadav said that he has met Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba several times for the operation of the Garuda sugar mill. "We are still of the opinion that the mill should run," he said, "It was not closed because of the farmers. It is because of the management. Now the government should also take initiatives to make it operational soon.