All sections of society including farmers and holy men belonging to various sects and religions have begun a movement for reopening of the Kampli Cooperative sugar factory.
Addressing a huge public meeting, those agitating for the re-establishment of the cooperative sugar factory called upon the government to initiate necessary steps in this direction. All the speakers said the closure of the factory was a blow to the interests of the cane growers in the district. They also submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister, urging him to protect the interest of farmers.
The memorandum said Kampli Sugar Factory was the first to be established in the cooperative sector in the State way back in 1955, under the stewardship of H. Lingareddy.
The crushing machine unit was imported from West Germany and the crushing operations commenced from 1958, with initial crushing of 800 tonnes which went up to 1,200 tonnes, besides registering profits.
The downturn began in 1977, when government-nominated persons took the reins of the administration, and ultimately the well-established factory was closed down in 1994.
The factory had a sprawling 176 acres and large number of farmers cultivating cane. The memorandum urged action against the Sundari Sugars for violating the agreement and take steps to restart the sugar factory in the cooperative sector without delay.