Sugarcane farmers protesting over minimum support prices, state incentives, crop-loss compensation, electricity supply and loan waivers will continue their padayatra towards Hubballi after rejecting an appeal from D.K. Shivakumar to suspend the agitation, according to a report by Prajavani. The decision was announced at Rani Channamma Circle in Channammanakittur, Belagavi district, where a large gathering of farmers met the senior state leader.
Shivakumar told the farmers that their concerns had reached both the Vidhana Soudha and Parliament. He said he had come to meet them voluntarily and acknowledged that the demands could not be resolved by him alone without additional time and discussions with the Union government. He also proposed convening Union ministers, state representatives and farmer leaders in Belagavi after the Dasara festival.
The appeal did not persuade the protesters. Farmers repeatedly demanded an immediate decision and rejected requests for more time. Chunnappa Pujeri, president of the Karnataka Raitha Sangha, said the farmers wanted the Centre to address their demands for a sugar price of ₹60 and complete procurement of ethanol. He said the state government must provide a special incentive of ₹1,000 for every tonne of sugarcane.
The farmers also demanded compensation of ₹50,000 per acre for drought-affected cultivators, 12 hours of daytime electricity supply and a complete waiver of farmers’ loans. Pujeri said the padayatra was not intended merely to secure assurances and that the farmers would continue until their minimum support price demand was met.
Shashikant Guruji, honorary president of the organisation, asked the protesters to consider continuing the agitation at Gurlapur Cross in Mudalagi taluk after the padayatra. He suggested that Shivakumar visit the location and announce the incentive there. The farmers rejected that proposal as well. Shivakumar later left the stage after waving to the gathering, accompanied by ministers Santosh Lad, Laxman Savadi and Satish Jarkiholi, along with several legislators.
The next phase of the Hubballi farmers protest is scheduled to begin after a sit-in at Channammanakittur. Pujeri said farmers would remain there until 3pm on Sunday and demanded that Union Minister Pralhad Joshi meet them before then. If no meeting took place, he said, the farmers would proceed towards Hubballi.
The protest leadership also referred to a High Court order concerning demonstrations in Hubballi. Guruji said the farmers would respect the court’s decision but maintained that the national highway remained central to their mobilisation. He demanded a ₹1,000 state incentive per tonne, an additional ₹500 from sugar factory owners and an increase in the sugarcane support price to ₹60.
The developments place both levels of government under pressure to respond to a movement that combines agricultural price demands with a planned march towards a major urban centre. The immediate next steps are the Sunday sit-in at Channammanakittur, the proposed meeting deadline for the Union minister and the farmers’ decision on whether to continue towards Hubballi.
