In order to make the unit self sufficient and ensure the supply of quality cane to commensurate with the crushing capacity of our plant which happens to be 2500 TCD, IGBMVSSK is going to under take huge lift irrigation schemes accompanied by drip irrigation system under the auspices of Netafim Irrigation India Pvt. Ltd. Naturally all this costs money.

In spite of heavy odds IGBMVSSK has managed to commission the plant on 25th December 2002. Even during the current season IGBMVSSK has managed to produce quality sugar under 100 ICCUMSA.

However, today the factory is facing financial problems mainly because the promised Government share contribution was not given to us in time even though IGBMVSSK had collected promoters contribution in full. Because of this IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) did not release the last installment of its promised Term Loan. This, as was expected resulted in delaying the supply of machinery with the result IGBMVSSK was not able to commission the plant on 1st of November 2002 as planed. By the time IGBMVSSK managed to clear the machinery suppliers dues it was end of December 2002.

This unavoidable delay in commissioning the plant as per schedule resulted in causing multiple problems at various levels resulting in huge losses. To begin with it resulted in seriously disturbing our Harvesting & Transport arrangement. All the contractors with whom IGBMVSSK had singed agreements by paying advances in the neighbourhood of Rs. 4.50 Crores, (taken from State Bank Of India as a special case) joined nearby sugar factories. The neighbouring sugar factories who used IGBMVSSK machinery without investing a rupee did not even care to recover IGBMVSSK dues as was their moral responsibility, but went ahead and signed new agreements under false names and did not return the harvesting and transport machinery when IGBMVSSK managed to commission the plant with the great difficulties on 25 December 2002. Thus, IGBMVSSK's dream of crushing nearly three lakh tones of sugar cane during the trial season with 11.50 % recovery was shattered and IGBMVSSK was forced to close the plant after crushing merely 95,000 tones of cane at 10.83 % recovery.

As was expected, this resulted in causing irreparable damages to the Factory :-

1)	Loss due to under crushing to the extent of 2 Lakh tons of cane.
2)	Loss due to poor recovery per ton of cane by 0.75%.
3)	Loss due to non - recovery of advances given to the Harvesting & Transport contractors. (Rs. 4.5 crores and interest thereof).
4)	Because of insufficient crushing IGBMVSSK was not able to pay IDBI installments and interest.

What happened during the trial season was to repeat this season also due to insufficient Harvesting & Transport arrangement. Because IGBMVSSK became defaulters of the State Bank Of India, they refused to refinance us. So IGBMVSSK approached District Central Co-operative Bank, Kolhapur for obtaining Rs. 5.00 crores which was IGBMVSSK's minimum requirement of harvesting & transport of four lakh tones of cane required for the current season. Here again, the Bank in the first place sanctioned only Rs. 3.00 crores as against the genuine requirement of Rs. 5.00 crores and handed over the sanctioned amount so late that by the time IGBMVSSK approached the Harvesting & Transport contractors, all the experienced and trusted ones had signed the contracts with other sugar factories. Naturally, IGBMVSSK had to be satisfied with second and third grade contractors. This again has created problems with the harvesting and transport programme.

To make bad things worse the neighbouring sugar factories declared the Rs. 750/- per M.T. as first advance for sugar cane during last season and going a step further this year they have declared Rs. 800/- per M.T. as first advance going against the directives of the financing institutions. Thus an economically unhealthy price war for obtaining cane has started in the Kolhapur region. Due to white folly a disease on sugar cane the entire area of the factory is affected and because of this the yield reduced by about fifty percent and sugar recovery reduced by 2 to 3% . Under the circumstances the availability of sugar cane came down and an unhealthy competition has started. IGBMVSSK has fallen victim to this cut throat competition. Under the circumstances IGBMVSSK too is forced to pay similar cane price for its survival.

Out of the five precious months of crushing season, IGBMVSSK lost two months. Thus, IGBMVSSK was forced to shut down for this season due to unavailability of funds.

Mentioned above are some of the reasons responsible for the problems IGBMVSSK is facing today. A beautiful project which has put a feather into the cap of all the women of the world is on the verge of collapse and likely to become a sick unit unless some well-meaning people and organizations of the world, take some urgent measures to provide the factory with immediate financial relief and save it from a otherwise certain death.

The factory's survival is certain to bring about a socio economic revolution in the much neglected part of the country. IGBMVSSK also proposes to undertake health oriented programs, schools and other activities for the overall development of women and children of the region.

So, we the women of the IGBMVSSK extend this urgent appeal to the people of the world to come forward and help this unique project and enable us women to accomplish our objectives.

IGBMVSSK takes this opportunity to invite all those who are interested in seeing what IGBMVSSK has already done at the site and what IGBMVSSK proposes to do in the future to visit us at Tambale, India.