Bengaluru: After nine days of intense agitation by sugarcane farmers across Karnataka, the state government has finally relented, announcing a total support price of ₹3,300 per tonne of sugarcane. The decision came after a series of high-level meetings chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, bringing relief to thousands of farmers who had taken to the streets demanding Rs 3,500 per tonne.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting at Vidhana Soudha, CM Siddaramaiah said, “We have fixed the sugarcane price at Rs 3,200 per tonne, and an additional Rs 100 will be added — Rs 50 each from the government and the factories. I am confident that sugar factory owners will agree to this arrangement.”
The chief minister clarified that for sugarcane with 11.25 per cent recovery, factories must pay Rs 3,250 per tonne, while the government will contribute Rs 50 more. For crops with 10.25 per cent recovery, the total rate will be Rs 3,200 per tonne. The decision applies across the state and aims to end the long-standing dispute between farmers and sugar mill owners.
Siddaramaiah highlighted that the central government has the authority to fix the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar and the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane, as well as ethanol allocation and sugar export limits. “We have repeatedly requested the Centre to raise the sugar MSP, but it has not acted. The FRP fixed by the Centre is unscientific and fails to consider farmers’ actual costs,” he said.
Farmer leaders, who met the chief minister, complained that sugar mills were showing artificially low recovery rates and cheating farmers on weight. Siddaramaiah promised to establish government-supervised laboratories at every factory to ensure transparency. He also assured that pending arrears from mills would be recovered promptly and all farmer grievances — including issues of under-weighing and delayed payments — would be resolved.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ protest in Belagavi, which had turned tense on Friday, saw stone pelting by miscreants near the Hattaragi toll in Hukkeri taluk. The incident left six police personnel injured, including a DySP whose hand was fractured. Four KSRTC buses and several trucks sustained damage.
Belagavi SP Bhimashankar Guled termed the incident “unfortunate,” clarifying that the farmers had been protesting peacefully when miscreants infiltrated the crowd. “We had instructed police not to resort to lathicharge. The situation is under control, and the highway is open for traffic,” he said.
Following the violence, IGP North Zone Chetan Singh Rathod and SP Guled rushed to the spot and held talks with Raitha Sangh leaders, including president Chunappa Poojary, appealing for calm. Farmer representatives maintained that the stone pelting was the handiwork of outsiders attempting to discredit their movement.
Additional police forces have been deployed in Hattaragi and surrounding areas as a precautionary measure. The situation has since returned to normal, though authorities continue to monitor the region closely.
With the government’s latest decision, the agitation that had gripped northern Karnataka — especially Belagavi, Mandya, and Bagalkot — is expected to be withdrawn. Farmer organizations have welcomed the move but warned that they will resume protests if sugar factories fail to implement the new rate or delay payments.
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