Kolhapur : Protests led by sugarcane farmers demanding a higher cane price took a violent turn as two tractors carrying cane to the mills were torched on Monday night by unknown persons in Kolhapur and Sangli.
At Kurundwad, a sugar-laden truck coming from a Karnataka mill to Miraj was stopped midway by Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana workers, who claimed the truck was laden with 600 bags of sugar and the stock was more than the permissible limit specified by the transport office. At Hatkanangle, a tractor carrying cane to Kolhapur’s Rajaram Sugar Mill was stopped and lit on fire. Similarly, along Nandre-Khotwadi road in Sangli, a tractor transporting cane to Sarvoday factory of Karandwadi was torched. Cases have been registered against unknown persons at the respective police stations. Raju Shetti’s organisation has not taken any responsibility for the violence. However, Shetti’s supporters claimed that they are peacefully requesting the farmers not to let the mills harvest and transport their cane. The outfit’s workers have set up camps along routes that connect to mills.