A sugarcane farmers’ protest halted traffic near the Kini toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway on Tuesday, disrupting movement on a key route between Maharashtra and Karnataka. The farmers, led by Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder president Raju Shetti, are demanding an initial payment of ₹4,500 per tonne from sugar factories.
The blockade followed two rounds of discussions between administrative representatives, sugar mill owners and the farmers’ organisation. According to the report, the meetings failed to produce an agreement on the payment demand. Farmers had also been protesting outside sugar factories across the district for several days before shifting the agitation to the highway.
Shetti joined the protest at around 11.30 am after visiting the Shri Maruti temple in Kini. Soon after his arrival, farmers occupied the highway and stopped vehicles near the toll plaza, escalating the disruption and putting pressure on the administration and sugar mill managements to respond to their demand.
More than 300 police personnel were deployed around the Kini toll plaza to manage the situation and prevent law-and-order problems. Authorities redirected vehicles on both sides of the affected stretch after traffic movement near the toll plaza came to a complete halt.
Vehicles travelling towards Kolhapur were sent through a route via the junction, while traffic coming from Pune was diverted through Waghwadi Phata. The diversions did not prevent severe congestion, and commuters travelling on the Pune-Bengaluru highway faced major delays as the blockade continued.
The farmers’ organisation has said the road blockade will continue until sugarcane growers receive an assurance on the initial payment of ₹4,500 per tonne. It has not agreed to call off the agitation in the absence of a settlement.
The administration and sugar mill owners now face continued pressure to resolve the payment dispute, while police and traffic authorities remain responsible for managing vehicle movement around the affected highway stretch.
