Stones Thrown, Highway Blocked As Karnataka Sugarcane Protests Enter Day 9

Tensions flared in northern Karnataka on Friday as a protest over sugarcane prices entered its ninth consecutive day, with angry farmers and groups supporting them resorting to stone-throwing on the Bengaluru-Pune National Highway in Belagavi. The incident comes in the backdrop of growing frustration among farmers, who accuse the government of neglecting their demands for fair pricing amid soaring production costs.

Yesterday, a slipper was thrown at the convoy of the state Sugar Minister Shivanand Patil in Belagavi.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has blamed the Centre for the impasse and convened two back-to-back meetings in Bengaluru on Thursday -- first with sugar mill owners and then with farmer leaders -- in an effort to defuse the crisis. He has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an urgent discussion on the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) formula, which he says lies at the root of the ongoing agitation.

The standoff, now in its second week, has paralysed parts of Belagavi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts, prompting pro-Kannada organisations to call for a day-long bandh in solidarity with the farmers. Although protesters deferred a planned highway blockade, they have issued a two-day ultimatum to the government to meet their demands.

Farmers are demanding a minimum price of Rs 3,500 per tonne of sugarcane, arguing that cultivation costs have risen steeply in recent years. According to local unions, input expenses, including fertiliser, labour, irrigation and transportation, have nearly doubled.

Farmers have claimed that the cost of growing one tonne of cane now stands between Rs 2,900 and Rs 3,000. Fertiliser prices are up 40 per cent, labour by 35 per cent, and irrigation costs have shot up. 

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Modi on Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah described the situation as "serious" and warned of "growing unrest among the farming community." He said that despite multiple rounds of negotiations between the state government, farmers, and sugar mills, the talks have failed to yield a consensus.