Credit: DH Photo
Mahalingpur: The protest by sugarcane farmers took a turn for the worse here on Thursday evening, with protesters setting fire to sugarcane loaded in over 50 tractors.
The growers are demanding that Rs 3,500 should be provided per tonne of sugarcane procured from them.
The farmers, who were protesting in Mudhol, got news that puja was being performed to the cane carrier machine to launch the crushing work at Godavari sugar factory at Sameerawadi (Rabakavi-Banahatti taluk) near here. Soon, they went in large numbers to the factory and and laid a siege to it.
On the way, they waylaid tractors transporting the produce at Rannabelagali and Sanganatti Cross, pushed them to the road and set the sugarcane afire.
On reaching Godavari factory, they set ablaze to sugarcane that had been ferried in over 50 tractors that had been parked there.
Farmers said they were on their way to the factory to claim dues, but miscreants threw stones at them, when they reached the barricades placed outside the factory, triggering the farmers to set fire to the sugarcane loads.
Farmer leader Suresh Chinchali said one farmer was severely injured when a flying stone hit his head.
Following the incident, the sugarcane growers couldn't hold talks with company officials over pending dues and returned to Mudhol.
Another farmer leader said it had been decided that sugarcane should not be harvested till a price of Rs 3,500 was fixed per tonne.
But some farmers were violating this and were transporting the produce to the factory, explaining about what led the growers to set fire to the sugarcane.