Sugarcane farmers blocked major roads across Karnataka’s Belagavi district on Thursday after farmer leaders were detained during protests demanding a fair price for sugarcane, disrupting traffic towards Maharashtra and leaving commuters and school students stranded.
The protests intensified after the reported detention of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha president Chunappa Pujeri. Farmers took to the roads in several parts of the district, opposing the arrests and pressing the state government to announce a price for sugarcane that they consider fair.
On the Karaguppi–Pashchapur road, protesters placed barriers in front of a police vehicle that was transporting detained demonstrators towards Gokak Ghat in a reserve police force vehicle. According to the report, farmers alleged that the detainees were not being provided drinking water during the transfer. Protesters who fell ill were treated at Basapur hospital.
In Munavalli in Saundatti taluk, farmers blocked a state highway connecting Gokak and Saundatti and set tyres on fire. They raised slogans against the state and central governments while protesting the detention of Pujeri and demanding action on sugarcane pricing.
Road blockades were also reported in Yaragatti town, where farmers stopped the Belagavi–Bagalkot road and burned tyres in the middle of the carriageway. The disruptions affected a key road connection used by local residents and inter-town traffic.
In Kagwad taluk, protests spread across Ainapur, Ugar, Kagwad town and Kavalagudda village. Farmers blocked major highways, including the Jewargi–Sankeshwar National Highway, and protested against the reported detention of farmer leaders Chunappa Pujeri and Shashikant Padsalagi. The protests also included slogans against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.
Speaking at Kagwad, farmer leader Girimallappa Athani said farmers had been conducting their agitation peacefully but alleged that the state government was attempting to suppress the movement by detaining farmer leaders. He said the protests would continue until the farmers’ demands were met, according to the report.
The road blockades had consequences beyond the protest locations. Traffic on the road towards Miraj in Maharashtra was reported to have come to a standstill, with thousands of vehicles held up. Passengers and school students faced difficulties as the disruptions affected an important inter-state movement corridor.
The immediate dispute centres on the price to be paid for sugarcane, while the arrests have widened the protest to include questions about how the administration is handling farmer demonstrations. The reported incidents involve multiple local road networks, making the agitation both a farm-price dispute and a major mobility disruption in the border region.
The report did not provide details of a government announcement on sugarcane pricing, the specific legal grounds for the detentions, or a police response to the allegations concerning drinking water. Further developments are expected to depend on the administration’s response to the farmers’ demands and the status of the detained leaders.
