Farmers Block Pune-Bengaluru Highway at Kognoli Over Sugarcane Price Demands

KOLHAPUR, Oct 13: Farmers from Maharashtra and Karnataka staged a 'Chakka Jam' (road blockade) at the Kognoli toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway on Tuesday after talks with Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan failed to resolve their demands for higher sugar prices and financial assistance to sugarcane farmers.

Hundreds of farmers and workers of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), led by its national president and former MP Raju Shetti, gathered at the Maharashtra-Karnataka border and staged a sit-in on the highway, bringing traffic to a standstill. The blockade led to long queues of vehicles on both sides of the interstate border.

Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in both states, while traffic was diverted through alternative routes to ease congestion.

The agitation followed a meeting held in New Delhi on Monday between Shetti, other farmers' leaders and Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. However, the discussions failed to yield a favourable outcome, prompting farmers' organisations from both states to intensify their protest.

The farmers are demanding a sugar price of Rs 50 per kg, an ethanol price of Rs 70 per litre and a grant of Rs 500 per tonne of sugarcane. They cited the early commencement of the sugarcane crushing season as one of the reasons for seeking financial support.

Following the failure of the talks, the farmers' organisations decided to block the highway to press the government to consider their demands. The protest disrupted traffic movement along the busy Pune-Bengaluru highway, particularly near the Maharashtra-Karnataka border.