Bengaluru, Nov. 7 -- The ongoing sugarcane farmers' protest in Karnataka took a dramatic turn as agitators in Belagavi district staged a mock funeral for State Sugar Minister Shivanand Patil, accusing the Congress government of betraying their interests by failing to fix a fair price for sugarcane.
The protest, now in its eighth day, has spread across North Karnataka, paralysing normal life in Athani, Hukkeri, Sankeshwar, and Harogeri towns. Farmers have demanded a price of Rs 3,500 per ton for sugarcane and warned of blocking national highways if their demands are ignored.
At Gurlapura in Mudalagi taluk, hundreds of farmers carried effigies and symbolic biers of the minister, chanting slogans against the Siddaramaiah-led government. The ...