Sugarcane farmers attempt to siege Deputy Commissioner office in Mysuru
Protesters from various organisations marched to the Siddharthanagar office to demand higher sugarcane prices and an end to weighing malpractices.
Sugarcane farmers from various organisations gathered in Mysuru on Tuesday, November 3, to protest against the delay in the revision of the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) by the Centre and the fixation of the State Advisory Price (SAP) by the State Government, according to The Hindu.
Members of different factions of the State Sugarcane Growers’ Associations and the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) marched from Dairy Circle to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Siddharthanagar. The farmers created a road blockade and shouted slogans against the Union and State governments.
The farmers demanded that the Centre raise the FRP to ₹4,500 per tonne for a 10.25 per cent recovery rate. They also requested the Karnataka government to fix the SAP on the lines of Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
Police prevented the farmers from entering the Deputy Commissioner’s office using barricades. After talks with Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Harsha Priyamvada and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Crime) Sundar Raj, some farmer leaders were permitted to enter the premises.
Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers’ Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar said the protesters stayed on the road for nearly three hours. Farmer leader Hosakote Basavaraju submitted a memorandum of demands to Additional Deputy Commissioner Aishwarya.
KRRS president Badagalapura Nagendra stated that a massive protest will be staged at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on November 6. He warned that the agitation will expand to every village if the government fails to act immediately.