• Thousands of sugarcane growers take out massive protest march 

• Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway blocked; vehicles stranded, traffic diverted

Mandya: The 8-hour Mandya bandh was  total today with thousands of sugarcane growers staging a massive protest urging the State Government to fix Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane at Rs. 4,500 per tonne and to fulfil their other demands. The bandh was observed from 6 am to 2 pm.

Sugarcane growers under the banner of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and supported by various farmer organisations, traders, truck and auto drivers, pro-Kannada organisations and students, who assembled at Sanjay Circle in the town, blocked the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway.

The farmers said that they have been holding day and night protest in front of Sir M. Visvesvaraya Statue in the town, which entered the 45th day today, but the State Government has not bothered to hear their grievances. They said that though CM Basavaraj Bommai visited Mandya recently, he did not have time to meet the farmers.

Shouting slogans against the State Government, the protestors also took out a bike rally urging the public to support them. Traders and owners of commercial establishments downed shutters in support of farmers. A few farmers stopped vehicles and a few laid down in front of buses and other vehicles, seeking their support for the bandh.

As the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway from both sides were blocked with barricades, vehicles on the highway were stranded for more than a kilometre and traffic was diverted through alternate routes.

After holding the protest at Sanjay Circle, the farmers took out a massive procession to the Office of the Mandya Deputy Commissioner, where they submitted a memorandum and returned to the Circle to continue their protest.

They also threatened that they would be forced to intensify their agitation if their demands are not met.

Meanwhile, motorists and KSRTC buses from Mysuru, anticipating roadblocks on Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, voluntarily took alternate route via Malavalli, Sathanur and Kanakapura to proceed to Bengaluru and beyond.