Dehradun, Sept. 16 -- Sugarcane as a crop was introduced in the second half of the nineteenth century but it was not considered significant from a commercial perspective, as the early varieties were susceptible to frost which the Valley experienced much through the winter months. However, in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, landowners of Badripur, Dudhli, Sewla and Majri had acquired adequate knowledge of propagation of sugarcane and a few of them had started venturing into sugarcane crushing. Drawing on my family's oral tradition and long association with these villages, the story of sugarcane crushing can proceed.

Before the advent of modern sugar mills, the crushing of sugarcane was done on sugarcane presses and on pestl...