Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil addressed the protesting sugarcane farmers in Gurlapur in Belagavi district on Wednesday. | Photo credit: PK BADIGER
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said on Wednesday that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will chair meetings with farmers and factory management in the next two days to resolve the impasse over sugarcane prices.
Addressing the protesting farmers at Gurlapur in Belagavi district, he said the Chief Minister would meet the farmers at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday and meet the factory representatives on Friday. He said he sympathized with their cause and that the state government was ready to solve the problem. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan, SP Bheemashankar S Guled and other officers accompanied the minister.
“The Chief Minister has asked me to talk to you and learn about your problems. He has also asked me to issue instructions to officials to ensure that farmers do not suffer any inconvenience,” Mr Patil said. He urged them to end the strike and instead present their demands to the Chief Minister in Bengaluru.
Sri Shashikant Guruji of Inchigeri Shakha Math said the farmers would withdraw the protest only if the state government announced a higher price on Thursday. He criticized district in-charge minister Satish Jarkiholi and minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, who hailed from Belagavi and owned sugar mills, for not meeting the protesting farmers in Belagavi. The soothsayer also demanded further meetings with the management of the sugar factory. He urged the Deputy Commissioner to hold another meeting of farmers and factories in Belagavi to finalize the award. A meeting called by the deputy commissioner on Tuesday failed to resolve the issue.
“If we abandon the protest and go to Bengaluru to meet the chief minister, we will send a wrong message to our farmers,” the seer said.
Chunappa Pujari, a farmer leader, asked the state government to ensure that the factories pay the price announced by the government. He suggested that if factories do not pay less than ₹3,500 per tonne, the state government should pay the rest to farmers, just like the incentives paid to milk producers.
Mr. Patil invited a delegation of farmers from Belagavi to the Chief Minister’s meeting in Bengaluru and said he would join the meeting.
Published – 05 Nov 2025 19:28 IST
