Sugarcane farmers' Hubballi march enters day three
Farmer leaders ended their National Highway blockade, which caused traffic bottlenecks, to serve the public interest.
CH NEWS, Belagavi The long-march padayatra undertaken by sugarcane farmers heading towards Hubballi entered its third day, following the suspension of their intense highway road blockade in Belagavi district. The protest march, led by grower associations, is directed against both state and central policies, pressing core demands that sugarcane farmers be paid a remunerative price of Rs 5,500 to Rs 6,000 per ton. Additionally, protesters are demanding that the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar set for sugar factories be increased from its current rate of Rs 31 to better support grower livelihoods and factory pricing margins. After staging a disruptive road blockade on the National Highway that caused traffic bottlenecks, farmer leaders decided to call off the rasta roko in the public interest. Instead, they transitioned into a continuous foot march toward Hubballi—the hometown of Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi—intending to stage demonstrations outside his residence and demand central government intervention. Passing through regions like Kakati, Bagewadi, and Kittur, the marching farmers have been rallying local agrarian support along the route. Protesters have warned that if authorities fail to address their pricing and MSP grievances by the time the march concludes in Hubballi, they will escalate their agitation further across the state. Local law enforcement agencies continue to monitor the march closely to manage traffic flow and maintain order along the route.
