Farmers in Maharashtra ignited two tractors transporting sugarcane from Karnataka, escalating tensions over pricing disputes pertaining to sugar mills.
Two tractors carrying thirty to thirty-five tonnes of sugarcane from Karnataka to a sugar factory in Maharashtra were set on fire by about twenty farmers from both states. According to Sadalaga Police Sub-Inspector SM Biradar, the incident happened at about eight o’clock at night on the borders of Karadaga village in Nippani taluk, Karnataka.
A gathering of sugarcane producers from south Maharashtra and north Karnataka was recently called in Kolhapur by the farmers, who operate under the banner of “Swabhimani Shethkari Sanghatana,” a farmers’ organization located in southern Maharashtra and led by former Kolhapur MP Raju Shetty.
It was decided unanimously at the meeting that sugarcane would not be supplied to south Maharashtra sugar mills until they had declared a minimum tariff of ₹3,500 per tonne of sugarcane.
According to former MP Raju Shetty, the combined contribution of southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka to their respective states’ total sugarcane production exceeds 60%. Farmers’ associations agreed to boycott the mills in the southern region when the mills refused to comply with their demands for higher prices.
Three farmers—Arun Tanaji Chauhan and Praveen Arun Chauhan, both from Hengavali in Nippani taluk, Karnataka, and Amit Ajit Boskar from Hatkanagala in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra—were trying to transport sugarcane in four trolleys using two tractors to Jawahar Saakar Karkhana (Jawahar Sugar Mill) in Huppari, the last village in Maharashtra in Kagal taluk, which is situated on the border with Karnataka, in defiance of the prohibition.
They were intercepted by local farmers at Karadaga village along the Karadaga-Rendal road, where the vehicle tires were deflated before being set ablaze, as eyewitnesses told HT.
“They monitored their movements and prevented them by resorting to arson,” he told reporters after learning that Karnataka farmers were covertly delivering sugarcane to the mills.
Shetty explained that only the tractor engines, not the trolleys carrying sugarcane, were symbolically set on fire by the protesting farmers.
Former MP Shetty, a well-known individual with a reputation for taking aggressive positions, clarified that the farmers burned the sugarcane transport vehicles as a warning to stop others from doing the same. He also chastised sugar mills in Karnataka and Maharashtra for providing poor quality services and delaying bill payments. Since politicians own the majority of sugar mills, “the political influence in the matter is evident,” Shetti stated.
In order to stop similar incidents from happening again, more police officers have been stationed at the state border, according to Sadalaga Sub-Inspector Biradar. He said, “The owners of the torched tractors have filed a complaint under IPC Section 435, which deals with incidents of vehicle burning, with the Sadalaga police.”
