MUDHOL(BAGALKOT): At least 15 sugarcane tractors parked in factory yards were set ablaze as cane growers’ agitation for “a fair price” of Rs 3,500 per tonne turned violent in Mudhol and other parts of Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts Thursday.While cane hub Belagavi accepted the cane price formula of Rs 3,300 per tonne announced by the state govt last week, Vijayapura and Bagalkot are emerging as holdout districts. While Belagavi has 29 functioning cane-crushing factories, Bagalkot has 14 and Vijayapura 10.Govt formula unscientific, say farmers as they block highwayAgitation in Mahalingapur and Sameerwadi of Bagalkot district intensified after unverified reports claimed a factory had started operations amid unresolved issues over cane pricing. Soon, farmers laid siege to Godavari factory at Sameerwadi where the tractors loaded with cane were set on fire. Incidents of arson were reported from Sanganatti Cross at Mahalingapur too.The farmers contended that the govt formula was “unscientific” as recovery (conversion of yield into quantifiable sugar) was not an acceptable marker to fix prices.Muttappa Komar, farmers’ leader, alleged that violence was unleashed by miscreants to bring discredit to the farmers. Peace efforts by the Bagalkot deputy commissioner and superintendent of police failed to yield a breakthrough.The farmers blocked Hubballi-Solapur highway near Siddapur in Jamkhandi taluk as a result of which traffic flow was disrupted. Roads were blocked at Hunnur and Hulyal villages too.The sugarcane farmers in Bagalkot have, in the past, too, never agreed to the price formula fixed by the govt and they want factories to fix the price with mutual consent and pay the amount.
