Fire ravages 200 acres of Atiak Sugar plantation
Atiak Sugar Factory and officials from Naads inspect a section of the sugar plantation in Amuru District early this year. Fire has on several occasions destroyed acres of the plantation. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- In 2016, a fire gutted 150 acres of sugarcane plantation at the factory, causing an estimated loss of Shs150m.
- In December 2018, a mysterious fire destroyed an estimated 250 acres of sugarcane at the facility.
A mysterious fire gutted more than 200 acres of sugarcane plantation at Atiak Sugar Works from Friday through to Monday afternoon.
The first report about the fire, said to have been set by unknown people, was made by local authorities last Friday.
It escalated until Sunday evening when the Police Fire and Rescue Service team rushed to put it out.
However, by Monday afternoon, the firefighters were still struggling to put out the fire.
On Monday, Mr David Ongom Mudong, the Aswa River region police spokesperson, said the fire also razed 14 huts belonging to a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) detach guarding the factory.
Mr Ongom told this newspaper that police in Amuru District had kicked off investigations into the cause of the fire.
He said when police firefighters arrived at the scene, they could not easily penetrate the plantation due to lack of fire lines, which hindered their efforts to put out the fire in time.
Atiak Sugar Factory is jointly owned by the government and Horyal Investment Holdings Company Ltd, which belongs to businesswoman Amina Hersi.
It is the first major investment in the region after the establishment of Amuru Sugar Works owned by Madhvani Group stalled for more than 10 years over a land ownership dispute in Lakang.
Atiak Sugar Factory is located 17kms north of Atiak –off the Gulu –Nimule Road in Gem Village, Pachilo Parish, Atiak Sub –county in Amuru District.
The factory has capacity to crush 1,650 tonnes of raw sugarcane daily, producing 66,000 tonnes of sugar annually.
Repeated attempts to speak to Mr Mahmood Abdi, the director of agriculture, and plantation at Atiak Sugar Factory, were futile by press time.
Background
In 2016, a fire gutted 150 acres of sugarcane plantation at the factory, causing an estimated loss of Shs150m.
In December 2018, a mysterious fire destroyed an estimated 250 acres of sugarcane at the facility.
It was the second time that the sugar plantation got destroyed by a suspected arson attack.
An estimated 600 acres of sugarcane at the plantation was burnt down in February 2019.
In January 2021, a fire that lasted nearly a week gutted nearly 60 percent of the plantation while the police Fire Brigade fought it with little success.
More than 600 acres of sugarcane estimated at Shs3b was reported to have been destroyed in the fire.
