Sugarcane farmers in Karnataka have welcomed the Union government’s decision to set up a four-member committee to examine their demands. However, they said their protest would continue until the Union government announces a revised Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for sugar and a higher Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane. The ongoing agitation at the Kognoli toll plaza on the Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway 48 (NH-48) has disrupted traffic, prompting Maharashtra Police to advise motorists to take alternative routes.
The farmers are demanding a revision of the MSP of sugar to Rs 60 per kg and an increase in the FRP to Rs 5,500 per tonne of sugarcane. The current FRP fixed by Union government is Rs 3,650 per tonne.
Their other demands include transparency in weighing and sugar recovery assessments at factories, increased procurement of ethanol produced from sugarcane and maize in Karnataka, and differential pricing for sugar sold to domestic and industrial consumers.
Farmers are also seeking legislation to make themselves shareholders in public, cooperative, and private sugar factories, with a share in profits from sugar and by-products such as molasses, ethanol, co-generated power, oxygen, bio-fertiliser, and press mud. Other demands include government-supervised installation and monitoring of computerised weighing scales and a statewide sugarcane harvesting and transportation calendar to be enforced by district administrations.
Chunappa Pujeri, a farmer leader associated with the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene in the Belagavi and Chikkodi regions, told reporters at Mukti Mathi near Belagavi on October 15 that farmers welcomed the formation of a committee headed by agriculture scientist Ramesh Chand to examine their demands. However, he said the protest would continue until the Union government announces an MSP of at least Rs 60 per kg of sugar and an FRP of Rs 5,500 per tonne of sugarcane.
“It is good that the committee has representation of all stakeholders. It has been told to look into MSP, FRP, and all related issues. We hope the committee gives its report soon, and that the Union Government implements it. However, this is no reason for us to withdraw the protest,” Pujeri said.
Farmers’ leader Shashikant Padasalagi Guruji questioned the government’s reluctance to revise the prices, arguing that separate rates could be fixed for sugar meant for domestic consumption and for industrial use.
“What is the price of sugar in the market now? Is the government not selling domestic and commercial LPG cylinders at different rates? Why can it not fix separate prices for domestic consumption of sugar and those bought by industrial houses? Why does the government want to keep farmers poor in the name of keeping food prices under control?” he asked.
Raju Shetty, leader of the Maharashtra Shetkari Sanghatan, said members of his organisation would join the Hubballi Chalo Padayatra from Kolhapur and neighbouring areas in solidarity with Karnataka’s sugarcane farmers.
Karnataka Cooperation Minister Laxman Savadi criticised the Union government over its handling of the farmers’ demands, saying Union ministers appeared unprepared during a meeting with farmers’ representatives in New Delhi on October 12.
Savadi, who attended the meeting along with Karnataka Sugar Minister Rudrappa Lamani, said Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Pralhad Joshi should have arrived with clarity on whether the MSP for sugar and the FRP for sugarcane could be revised.
“I am disappointed with the Union government,” Savadi told reporters in Chikkodi on October 15.
He said the meeting had yielded no immediate decision, with the Union government instead proposing to form a committee within a week, obtain its recommendations in about a month, and take a final decision on revising the prices later.
“There was no sense of urgency in any of them. I felt, just like several other farmers’ leaders, that their response to the problems of sugarcane farmers was not appropriate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ongoing protest at the Kognoli toll plaza in Karnataka disrupted traffic on NH-48 on the morning of Wednesday, October 14, affecting vehicles travelling towards Belagavi and Bengaluru.
NH-48 is a key interstate corridor connecting Mumbai and Pune with Bengaluru and other industrial centres in southern India. The disruption has inconvenienced motorists, bus passengers, and transport operators travelling towards Karnataka.
In an advisory issued on Wednesday, the Maharashtra Highway Police said the situation remained unchanged from Tuesday evening and advised motorists travelling from Mumbai towards Bengaluru to avoid NH-48 as far as possible until further instructions.
Inspector General of Police for the Kolhapur range Ranjan Kumar Sharma appealed to commuters to use alternative routes through Satara, Sangli, and Kolhapur districts.
The farmers have maintained that the agitation will continue until the Union government announces a decision on revising the prices, despite the formation of the committee.
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