Once largest in Asia, 80-year old Nizam sugar factory goes for liquidation

NCLT has recently ordered the liquidation of NDSL as it was left with no choice. Investors have backed out and the state government failed to come out with an alternative plan to save the company within the stipulated time.

Hyderabad: Employees of the Nizam Deccan Sugars Limited (NDSL) on Friday protested the closing down of the factory in Bodhan town. They are demanding the state government to cancel the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order or provide them with an alternative and clear their salaries. They also demand the government to take over the factory and run by itself.

NCLT has recently ordered the liquidation of NDSL as it was left with no choice. Investors have backed out and the state government failed to come out with an alternative plan to save the company within the stipulated time.

This vexed issue has now taken a political twist with the state government Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Bharatiya Janata Party started blaming each other.

NDSL was set up in 1937 and was known as the largest sugar factory in Asia. It served as the backbone of the industry for Nizamabad and other surrounding districts. The company provided a lot of employment and livelihood to thousands of people.

However, in 2002, the TDP government privatized the factory due to losses and the government distributed the factory's land to the poor.

The Nizam Sugar Factory had the capacity to crack sugarcanes between five and seven million tonnes and reached up to 11 lakh tonnes in 1982-83 on record.

The company currently has 264 workers in three mills. The lives of their families after the layoff have become miserable. The labourers have not been paid salaries for three-and-a-half years. Their cases are still pending in Labour court.