March enters third day

Sugarcane farmers' Hubballi Chalo padayatra entered its third day in Belagavi on October sixteenth, with a team led by farmer leader Chunappa Pujeri walking from Suvarna Soudha to Kittur on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway.

Target: minister's residence

The farmers say they will lay siege to the residence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi in Hubballi. They took out a mock funeral procession of Mr. Joshi along the way to protest his policies.

Expected arrival and numbers

Chunappa Pujeri said the team would reach Mr. Joshi's house in one to two days and expects over five lakh people to come to Hubballi to participate in the protest.

“We will reach Mr. Joshi's house in 1-2 days. We expect over five lakh people to come to Hubballi.”

Pujeri's ultimatum

Pujeri said farmers will not return from Hubballi unless the Union government comes up with a solution to their problems and announces it publicly.

“Otherwise, we will not return from Hubballi.”

Parallel indefinite strike planned

A second team led by Shashikant Padasalagi Guruji is moving towards Gurlapur village near Gokak to prepare for an indefinite strike if the government delays fulfilling farmers' demands.

Gurlapur's history

Gurlapur was the site of a successful protest rally last year. After the eleven-day rally, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah passed a government order mandating a procurement price of three thousand three hundred rupees per tonne…

Farmers' core demands

Farmers demand the Union government change policies on Minimum Selling Price of sugar and Fair and Remunerative Price of sugarcane.

Demand for state incentive

Farmers cite Tamil Nadu's Vijay Model, where the State government pays an incentive of seven hundred rupees per tonne to farmers.They demand Chief Minister D.K.

“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.”