Full Breakdown
Karnataka Sugarcane Farmers Block Pune-Bengaluru Highway Demanding Higher Prices
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Protest on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway
On October 13, 2026, sugarcane growers in Karnataka’s Belagavi district halted traffic on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway at Hirebagevadi and Hattaragi. Farmers formed a “rasta roko” blockade, stopping heavy vehicles while allowing emergency two-wheelers and cars on service roads. A protest tent was set up beside the highway, providing water, tea and rotti-bhaji to travelers. Bullock carts and tractors were parked at the toll plaza, and police presence was increased.
Demands and Farmer Grievances
The demonstrators presented a comprehensive list of demands:
- Raise the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugar to INR60 per kg.
- Increase the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane to INR5,500 per tonne.
- Ensure transparent weighing and recovery assessment in sugar factories.
- Expand state-run purchase of ethanol produced from Karnataka sugarcane and maize.
- Implement differential pricing of sugar for domestic versus industrial consumers.
- Enact a law requiring public, cooperative and private sugar factories to treat farmers as shareholders and share profits from sugar, molasses, ethanol, co-generated power, oxygen, bio-fertiliser, press mud and other by-products.
- Install government-supervised computerized weighing scales and enforce a statewide sugarcane cutting and transport calendar through district administration.
Farmers also called for the resignation of Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pralhad Joshi, accusing him of ignoring their concerns.
Official Responses
Chunappa Pujeri, state president of the Karnataka Rajya Rait Sangha and Hasiru Sene, told reporters that the Centre had not met the demand to raise the MSP to INR60 or to purchase the full stock of ethanol from sugar factories. He noted that after a three-hour meeting with Minister Joshi in Hubballi the previous month, the minister requested one month to reach a decision.
The Union Food Minister’s office has not issued a public statement on the blockade beyond the meeting reference.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The two sources differ on the protest’s timing. The Hindu reports the blockade as an event that occurred on October 13, 2026, describing farmers already on the road. Deccan Herald frames the same action as a scheduled protest set to begin at 11 a.m. on October 13, indicating the event was forthcoming at the time of reporting. No additional details clarify which account reflects the final status of the blockade.
Potential Impact
If the farmers’ price and profit-sharing demands are met, Karnataka’s sugar industry could see higher procurement costs for the government and altered revenue distribution for factories. Conversely, continued disruption of a major national highway may pressure the Union government to negotiate, affecting broader agricultural policy discussions on MSP adjustments and ethanol procurement across India.