Belagavi, Karnataka: In a shocking incident, agitating farmers set ablaze a tractor transporting sugarcane to a sugar mill in Maharashtra in the early hours of Friday, reported Hindustan Times.
This act of violence comes amidst a growing dispute between sugarcane growers and sugar mills over the price of sugarcane.
Belagavi police reported that a group, suspected to be from Maharashtra, set a tractor transporting sugarcane to a sugar mill in Maharashtra ablaze near Bodakyanatti village in Belagavi taluk around 1 am on Friday. The incident involved about 12 individuals, believed to be farmers from Maharashtra, who stopped the tractor, unloaded the cane, and set the vehicle’s engine on fire after pouring petrol.
The tractor driver stated that the group intercepted his vehicle, offloaded the laden cane, and ignited the vehicle after pouring petrol brought in plastic bottles. The driver had chosen to transport sugarcane through Karnataka to avoid scrutiny by the “Farmers Vigilance Squad” in the border areas of Maharashtra.
Two separate complaints have been filed by the sugar factory and the tractor owner with the Kakati police, and investigations are underway. The sugarcane growers in south Maharashtra, under the banner of “Swabhimani Shethkari Sanghatana, Kolhapur,” have initiated a ban on supplying sugarcane to sugar mills in the southern region, demanding additional payment of Rs 400 per tonnes for cane supplied in the previous season. This ban is to continue until their demands are met.
