The national bandh call by farmers’ organisations received a positive response in Belagavi district.
Most shops were closed, but offices were open. Farmers stopped buses in the early hours, but police forced NWKRTC officers to start plying buses in the afternoon.
Protests were held in Athani, Chikkodi, Hukkeri, Raibag, Nippani, Kittur, Ramdurg, Khanapur, and other places. In Athani, farmers rode bullock carts and brandished whips. In Chikkodi and Kittur, they walked through town, raising slogans against the government.
In Belagavi, most shops remained closed in northern part of the city while most shops were open in the south.
Farmers burned tyres at Rani Channamma Circle and formed a human chain to stop vehicles for a few minutes. Police diverted vehicles away from the Rani Channamma traffic junction to allow them to move via Bogarves and the military camp.
Farmers stopped buses from leaving the central bus stand. A team of farmers led by KRRS leader Jayashree Gurannanavar made tea in front of the bus stand and sold them to commuters. They shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
The police stopped them and took away the stove and the teapot.
In Karadiguddi on the Belagavi – Bagalkot highway, the farmers sat on the road and stopped buses for over an hour.
Several vehicles were stranded on the road for nearly a kilometre on both the sides.
Leaders like Sidagouda Modagi, Choonappa Pujari, Raju Ganiger addressed farmers at the Rani Channamma circle. They shouted slogans against the NDA government.
Mr. Pujari said that the government had to give legal support to the concept of minimum support price and expand it to all crops grown by farmers.
“While Indian farmers grow nearly 1,000 varieties of crops, the government fixes MSP only for 23. It is ironical that the government fixes fair and remunerative price for cash crops like sugarcane while food crops are not given any such protection,” he said.
He demanded that the Union government make MSP mandatory, even for private buyers. “Otherwise, large corporates and international grain merchants will buy low and sell high. They will make money by exporting our produce, but not share the profits with us,” he said.
