Following orders from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), officers locked up the Hiranyakeshi Sugar Factory in Sankeshwar of Belagavi district for failing to comply with pollution control norms.Earlier, KSPCB directed Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan to close down the factory as it failed to comply with pollution control norms despite repeated notices.A team of officers, including Tahsildar Balaram Kattimani, pollution control officer K.S. Purnima, Circle Inspector of Police Shivshankar Ganachari and Sankeshwar Municipality Chief Officer Prakash Math locked the control panels of the sugar production unit, co-generation unit and distillery production units.The officers told reporters that a hearing on the violations and the steps taken by the factory management will be held in Bengaluru on July 16.MLA and former chairman of the factory Nikhil Katti said that he is no longer actively involved in the factory management as the current dispensation has kept him away from the decision-making process.“When I was the chairman of the factory, I was actively involved in the day-to-day running of the unit. But I am no longer involved with it. However, the issue is a long-pending one and that efforts are being made to comply with KSPCB norms from time to time,” he said. Published - July 05, 2026 07:52 pm IST