Sugarcane farmers call Karnataka bandh on Saturday after Belagavi roadblock order
Sugarcane farmers in Karnataka have called for a statewide bandh on Saturday, a day after the Belagavi district administration issued a prohibitory order against their planned rasta roko on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway.
The farmers said they would abide by the administration’s order and not block the highway, but would go ahead with the bandh in all districts. Farmer leader Chunappa Pujeri told reporters at Gurlapur Cross near Mudalagi on Friday that the protest would be observed in different regions under local leadership.
“We will respect the Government Order. We will not block the National Highway on Saturday. But we will observe a Karnataka bandh in all districts. Chukki Nanjundaswami and others will observe the bandh in South Karnataka and we will do it here. We will also start a Jail Bharo protest on Sunday,” Pujeri said.
The call comes after the district administration moved to prevent the planned road blockade on the national highway, a key route connecting Pune and Bengaluru. The administration’s prohibitory order was issued on Friday. The farmers had planned the rasta roko as part of their agitation.
The decision to respect the order on the highway while pressing ahead with a district-wide bandh marks a dual approach by the farmers’ groups: avoiding a direct confrontation over the highway while seeking to demonstrate the breadth of their support through the bandh. The Jail Bharo protest, planned from Sunday, is a form of civil disobedience in which participants seek to be arrested and taken into custody.
It was not immediately clear from Pujeri’s statement what specific demands underlie the bandh call. The leader said Chukki Nanjundaswami and others would observe the bandh in South Karnataka, while farmers in the Belagavi region would observe it “here”.
A bandh is a form of protest in which normal public life is sought to be halted. In India, such calls often affect transport, shops and schools, though the exact impact depends on participation and official arrangements. The Pune-Bengaluru National Highway is a major transport corridor, and any disruption on it would draw attention.
A prohibitory order is an administrative restriction issued to prevent an anticipated breach of peace or obstruction of public order. It can restrict assembly or movement in a specified area for a specified period. The Belagavi district administration’s order was issued on Friday, ahead of the planned rasta roko.
The farmers’ decision not to block the highway follows that order. The Jail Bharo protest is scheduled to begin on Sunday. The farmers’ leader said the bandh would be observed in all districts. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the scale of participation planned, and the statement did not give details of how the bandh would be organised.
The district administration had issued the prohibitory order on Friday. Further details about the bandh and the Jail Bharo protest were not available in the statement. The developments come as farmers’ groups prepare for a weekend of protest activity in Karnataka.
