Sugarcane farmers initiated a 90-kilometer padayatra from Gurlapur Cross to Belagavi on Monday, demanding a price of ₹5,500 per tonne as part of their Jail Bharo protest. Participants, including Kishan Nandi, wore T-shirts reading “Prisoner Number 5500” to underscore their financial demand. The group plans to camp at Kabbur Naka on Monday night and reach Hindalga Central Prison in Belagavi by Tuesday morning, with the remainder of the journey to be completed by vehicle. Farmers leader Chunappa Pujeri stated that the group will deliberate on the next phase of their strategy while staying in Kabbur village that night.
Earlier on Monday, a group of farmers attempted to forcibly enter the Hindalga Jail in Belagavi, but police and jail authorities prevented them. The agitation, which began two months ago, has seen members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene hold rallies in Hubballi, Belagavi, and Dharwad. The groups also conducted a padayatra to Hubballi with plans to besiege the residence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. The protests were temporarily suspended after Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar met with farmers and sugar factory owners at Suvarna Soudha, but resumed after the Chief Minister’s two-day mediation offer lapsed on Saturday.
Minister for Cooperation Laxman Savadi called for a truce in Bengaluru on Monday, stating he has appealed to Mr. Joshi to decide on the revision of the Minimum Selling Price for sugar as soon as possible. Savadi requested sugar factories to announce prices for the current crushing season before Tuesday to allow operations to begin, warning that delays in harvesting would reduce sugar content and yields. He accused Mr. Joshi and other leaders of attempting to shift the responsibility of protecting farmers’ interests to the State government to escape their own duties.
