Kolhapur: Sugarcane crushing at the Daulat-Atharva sugar mill has been successfully completed and the mill has closed operations, but pressure tactics are allegedly being used to halt the functioning of the factory, the mill administration said.
In a statement, the administration said that while the crushing season at the Halkarni unit concluded successfully, a sudden strike by a section of workers has created difficulties and raised concerns over the mill's operations.
Officials claimed that workers have been exerting pressure on employees handling essential services such as electricity, water supply and security, asking them not to report to duty. The absence of these staff members on Friday has increased the risk of the factory coming to a halt.
The management said it has been following directives issued by the district administration regarding workforce arrangements. It also noted that several demands raised by workers had already been accepted during earlier discussions.
The talks were held in the presence of authorities, with mediation by Shivaji Patil, and a mutual agreement was proposed between the workers and the management.
The administration added that it had already released the first instalment of the salary revision along with dearness allowance as part of its efforts to resolve the issue.