BELAGAVI: The ongoing agitation by sugarcane farmers demanding fair pricing and payment of pending dues has taken a dramatic turn, with protests erupting across Belagavi district and several towns observing a complete shutdown on Tuesday.
Farmers, backed by Kannada organisations, have called for a bandh in Athani, which has spread to Chikkodi, Gurlapur, Jamboti, and Gokak, bringing normal life to a standstill. Shops and businesses remained voluntarily closed, while major highways were blocked by farmers at multiple locations, including the Gokak-Athani road and Darur-Halyal bridge.
In Hukkeri, farmers’ associations enforced a total bandh demanding a revised minimum price for sugarcane. The town remained completely paralysed as protesters held a massive rally from Adavisiddeshwar Mutt to Court Circle, culminating in a highway blockade and an overnight sit-in protest. Police diverted vehicular movement through alternative routes as farmers erected barricades and parked earth-moving equipment across the roads to block traffic.
Vijayendra extends support
At Shivayogi Circle, hundreds of protesters blocked the Jamboti-Sankeshwar-Jewargi state highway, where BJP state president BY Vijayendra joined them in a show of solidarity. Addressing the agitating farmers, he came down heavily on the Congress government, accusing it of total neglect of farmers’ distress.
“Farmers are suffering today, devastated by heavy rain, yet no minister, not even the in-charge or revenue minister visited North Karnataka. Farmers are again forced to take to the streets, but the government remains unmoved,” Vijayendra said.
The BJP leader demanded that the government announce Rs 3,500 per tonne as the price for sugarcane and settle pending payments without delay. “We are giving the government time till this evening. If it fails to respond positively, we will launch a statewide intensified agitation,” he warned. With protests spreading and highways blocked in multiple districts, the farmers’ movement has now escalated into one of the largest agrarian confrontations the state has witnessed in recent times, posing a major political challenge to the Siddaramaiah government.
VIJAYENDRA WARNS OF POWER STRUGGLE FOR CM’S POST AFTER BIHAR POLLS
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government, in Belagavi on Tuesday, BJP state president BY Vijayendra accused it of displaying complete apathy towards protesting sugarcane farmers in Gurlapur, and warned that a fierce power struggle for the CM’s post will erupt soon after the Bihar polls. He said, “Thousands of farmers have taken to the streets demanding fair prices.
The state government must respond immediately. A responsible government should understand how to act in such a situation.” He urged that the farmers’ cause should rise above party politics. “Whenever farmers’ issues are at stake, we must stand united, beyond political lines. I am here after consulting party leaders to extend full support to the farmers,” he said. Reminding CM Siddaramaiah of past events, Vijayendra recalled, “When farmer Vithal Arabavi ended his life in Belagavi, years ago, BS Yediyurappa fought relentlessly, ensuring an additional Rs 150 per tonne for sugarcane growers. That was real leadership.”
The BJP leader also accused the government of ignoring the plight of farmers affected by floods in Kalyana Karnataka, saying ministers and officials have failed to act, despite repeated pleas for compensation. “Every year, about 6 million tonnes of sugarcane is crushed in the state, earning the government nearly Rs 55,000 crore in revenues. Yet, the Congress government shows little concern for those farmers who make that possible. Everyone knows who the sugar mill owners are,” he charged. Turning to state politics, he hinted at an impending leadership tussle within the ruling party. “A war for the CM’s chair has already begun. After the Bihar Assembly polls, the intensity of that battle will become clear,” he predicted.
