BELAGAVI: The raging protest by sugarcane growers at the Deputy Commissioner’s office premises here demanding a suitable support price for cane has been temporarily called off following the intervention of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
The CM on Friday sent a message to the growers announcing that he will rush to Belagavi on Monday to find a lasting solution to all their problems.
Meanwhile in Bengaluru, reacting to the farmers’ agitation, Kumaraswamy said he has invited the agitating leaders for talks with the help of Belagavi DC S B Bommanahalli.
In the wake of threats by farmers to disrupt the upcoming winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi, the CM urged farmers “not to politicise the issue as his government was willing to negotiate with them and resolve the issue in their larger interests.”
Several top farmer leaders, politicians and the Belagavi Bar Association rallied behind the agitators on Friday in an attempt to exert pressure on the government to come to the growers’ rescue. The day and night protest by farmers, which starting from Thursday morning, witnessed several extraordinary moments.
As part of the protest, the farmers camped on the DC’s office premises at night and also took baths at the entrance on Friday morning.
A protest demanding clearance of their pending arrears and announcement of sugarcane price on the lines of the Maharashtra pattern attracted several farmers and organisations from different parts of the state on Thursday.