Sugarcane farmers protesting over state and central pricing decisions blocked roads around the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Mysuru for more than three hours on Tuesday, with leaders warning of a larger mobilisation at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park if their demands are not addressed.
Members of the Sugarcane Growers’ Coordination Committee gathered at Buddha Circle near the milk dairy in Siddhartha Nagar before marching towards the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Protesters raised slogans against the Central and state governments and carried sugarcane stalks during the procession.
The farmers are demanding the fixing of a State Advised Price (SAP) for sugarcane and an increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre. When the protesters attempted to enter the Deputy Commissioner’s office, police placed barricades to stop them, according to the report by Prajavani.
The protesters removed the barricades and placed them on the road before staging a blockade. They lay on the road and prevented vehicles from passing through the area. Traffic was diverted through alternative routes during the protest. The demonstrators also cooked and ate food on the road, extending the disruption around the district administration complex.
Protesters burned portraits of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi while expressing anger over the governments’ handling of their demands. The police presence and the barricading of the office also led to heated exchanges between the protesters and police personnel.
State Sugarcane Growers’ Association president Kurubur Shantakumar alleged that Punjab had fixed its SAP at ₹4,480, Uttar Pradesh at ₹4,200 and Tamil Nadu at ₹4,000. He criticised the Karnataka government for saying that it did not have the authority to fix the price and accused it of misleading farmers. These figures and allegations were made by the protesters and were reported by Prajavani.
Shantakumar also alleged that the Centre had fixed a low FRP and said the pricing decision was placing sugarcane farmers under financial pressure. He claimed that farmer organisations had joined hands across Karnataka to oppose what they described as the dual approach of the state and central governments.
Samuhika Nayakatva Raitha Sangha leader Manju Kiran accused the government of neglecting the farmers’ movement and warned that the agitation could be intensified. The report did not include a response from the state or central governments to the allegations made during the protest.
After the prolonged demonstration, Deputy Commissioners of Police Harsha Priyamvada and K.S. Sundarraju held talks with farmer leaders. The protesters insisted that they be allowed to enter the Deputy Commissioner’s office premises. Hoskote Basavaraj of the farmers’ organisation later submitted a memorandum to Additional Deputy Commissioner Aishwarya.
State Raitha Sangha president Badagalapura Nagendra said farmers would hold a large protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Friday if their demands were not met. He also warned of village-level mobilisation, invoking the legacy of the 1980s farmers’ movement associated with Nanjundaswamy. The proposed Bengaluru protest is the next announced step in the agitation.
