Belagavi Farmers Hurl Slippers at Minister Shivanand Patil Amid Sugarcane Price Row
Karnataka farmers hurl footwear in raging protest.
Furious sugarcane farmers in Belagavi pelted slippers at Karnataka Minister Shivanand Patil's car on November 6 as he fled the protest site after a tense meeting, marking a dramatic escalation on the eighth day of their statewide agitation. The enraged growers, demanding a steep hike in cane prices, accused the government of betrayal, with the footwear assault symbolizing deep-seated frustration over stalled promises and economic hardship gripping North Karnataka's farming heartland.
Minister Patil, who had arrived to appeal for calm, faced a hostile crowd threatening to blockade National Highways if demands were ignored. He shifted blame to the Central Government, stating that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) falls under Union jurisdiction and criticized the state’s own Sugar Minister for inaction. "I am here to appeal, not escalate—the Centre must act," Patil insisted, revealing the state’s limited leverage in pricing decisions.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called an emergency meeting with all sugar mill owners on Friday to hammer out a resolution, with Patil pledging to return to the protest site personally. The CM has also fired off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urgently requesting a meeting to address the "serious situation" brewing across Belagavi, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Vijayanagara, Bidar, Gadag, Hubli-Dharwad, and Haveri—regions where thousands of farmers have brought operations to a standstill.
Also Read: Farmers’ Stir Halts Sugar Production Across North Karnataka as Price Dispute Escalates
The protest, now a powder keg of rural discontent, highlights the crushing gap between rising input costs and stagnant cane payments, pushing farmers to the brink. With mills delaying payments and FRP revisions stuck in Delhi, growers warn of intensifying action—including highway chokepoints—if concrete relief isn’t announced post the CM’s summit. Patil acknowledged the movement’s sincerity, vowing full state support once mill owners commit.
As North Karnataka simmers, the slipper attack has gone viral, amplifying farmers’ desperation and exposing fault lines between state and central authority. All eyes are now on Friday’s closed-door talks and Modi’s response—failure to deliver could ignite a full-blown agrarian uprising, threatening both political stability and the region’s sugar economy.
Also Read: Sugarcane Farmers Shut Down Belagavi as Protests Sweep Karnataka’s Sugar Belt
