Sugarcane farmers’ padayatra enters third day

Even as the Hubballi Chalo padayatra entered its third day in Belagavi, farmers began preparing the stage for an indefinite strike in Gurlapur village near Gokak in Belagavi district, in case the Union government delays the fulfilment of their demands.

A team led by farmer leader Chunappa Pujeri began walking from the Suvarna Soudha to Kittur on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway, saying they would lay siege to the residence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi in Hubballi. The activists protested by taking out a mock funeral procession of Mr. Joshi along the way.

“We will reach Mr. Joshi’s house in 1-2 days. We expect over five lakh people to come to Hubballi. We urge the Union government to come up with a solution to our problems and announce it publicly. Otherwise, we will not return from Hubballi,” Mr. Pujeri said.

He urged all farmers, especially large landholders, to come to Hubballi and participate in the protest. “If you do not come, then the government will think only the small farmers have problems and will come out with a temporary solution,” he said. He urged the State government to ensure that the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi served as an alternative head office of the State government for all 12 months of the year.

Another team is moving towards Gurlapur, the site of last year’s successful protest rally, to prepare for an indefinite protest. Then, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had passed a government order mandating a procurement price of ₹3300 per tonne of sugarcane after the 11-day rally in Gurlapur.

Shashikant Padasalagi Guruji, who led the team, said that at least 50 lakh farmers were expected to participate in the rally. “We will begin preparations from October 17. In case we do not get good news from Hubballi by then, we will sit on the road indefinitely,‘’ he said.

He said the protest was not against any person or party, but against the whole system. “We have issues with the district administration, the State government and the Union government. Each of them has a responsibility to solve our problems at their levels,” he said.

He said that the Gurlapur rally would be held on the ideals of M.D. Nanjundaswamy. “I request all MPs, MLAs and MLCs to come and visit us at Gurlapur. Let them come here, sit with us, and discuss our issues. We will give some suggestions and welcome suggestions from them. After that, we expect them to take this to the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister,” Mr. Guruji said.

“We expect the Union government to change the policies on the Minimum Selling Price of sugar and the Fair and Remunerative Price of sugarcane to protect farmers, and the State government to pass a law to enforce the State Advised Price. We expect the district administration to see that factories do not harass farmers by delaying payment, and that the process of harvest, transport, weighing and sugar recovery declaration are all done transparently, under government supervision,’’ Mr. Guruji said.  He urged the Union and State governments to empower Deputy Commissioners to inspect factories and punish wrongdoers.

He demanded that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar follow the ‘Vijay Model’ from Tamil Nadu, where the State government is paying an incentive of ₹700 per tonne to farmers in addition to the payment given by factories.

“If a first-time Chief Minister can give each farmer ₹700 per tonne, then Mr. Shivakumar, who is a seasoned politician, should pay at least ₹1,000 per tonne. We are asking for ₹5,500 per tonne, but we will be happy if we get a total of ₹4,800, with factories paying ₹3,800 and the government ₹1,000,’’ he said.