The Hindu reports.

Owing to the drought witnessed across Tamil Nadu, including Madurai, last year, the officials at the mill said that they were targeting to crush only 50,000 tonnes of sugarcane this season, which is less than one-third of the 1,74 lakh tonnes crushed during the previous year.

Stating that it was tough to operate the mill with the low quantity of sugarcane available for crushing, the officials said that best efforts had been made to run the mill this season, keeping the welfare of farmers in mind. A senior official said that the mill was even trying to get sugarcane from farmers who had not pledged their produce to the mill.

Cane cutting instructions had already been sent to areas falling under the mill’s jurisdiction and appealed to the farmers to ensure steady supply of cane so that the efficiency of the crushing operations at the mill could be maintained at a higher level, which would, in turn, lead to higher earnings for the farmers.

NCSM would be bearing the labour and other cost involved in cutting sugarcane and transporting it to the mill.