SARLAHI: The Mahalakshmi Sugar Mill located in Godaita Municipality in the southern part of Sarlahi has closed down for the year without paying dues to farmers.

Administrative Manager Birendra Kumar Shrivastav informed that the mill, which started processing sugarcane from December 20, shut down for the rest of this Nepali year after processing 890,000 quintals of sugarcane, TRN reported.

But still the farmers have not been paid their dues.

Farmers said that the mill only paid for the sugarcane processed in the first five days. Shrivastav said that the process to clear the remaining dues would begin in a few days.

Godaita Municipality Mayor Devendra Yadav informed that the farmers would be forced to stage a protest against the mill like last year if the payments were not cleared soon.

“We have also warned the mill owners,” he said.

Yadav claimed that Mahalaxmi had also brought sugarcane from India. “The factory had money to buy sugarcane from India but not to pay us,” the local farmers complained.