Sugarcane farmers stage highway blockades in North Karnataka
Protesters in Belagavi and Dharwad demand higher procurement prices as district administrations issue prohibitory orders.
Sugarcane farmers in North Karnataka staged highway blockades on Saturday to demand a hike in procurement prices. Protests occurred in Belagavi, Dharwad, Vijayapura, and Bagalkote.
In Belagavi, farmers held a sit-in demonstration in front of buses at the bus stand. In Dharwad, protesters blocked the road at Nigadi village and placed baskets of cow dung at the site to draw government attention.
The farmers are demanding a procurement price of Rs 5,500 per tonne, the restoration of the Fair and Remunerative Price base recovery to 9.5 per cent, and a review of the Centre's ethanol policy. They also seek a cane price based on the C2 + 50 per cent formula.
Agitators alleged that politicians owning most sugarcane factories are hindering a hike in the Minimum Support Price. They also charged that both the Centre and the state government are involved in the injustice to farmers.
In response to the intensifying agitation, the Belagavi and Dharwad administrations issued prohibitory orders. Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan issued an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, banning protests or blockades on national highways and toll plazas.
Shashikant Guruji, honorary president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, called for a voluntary statewide bandh. He urged farmers to withhold the sale of essential commodities like milk and vegetables until a solution is reached.