Highway blockade at Ganangur toll plaza disrupts regional traffic
Thousands of farmers and members of farmer organisations from Mandya, Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts blocked the Bengaluru–Mysuru National Highway near the Ganangur toll plaza in Srirangapatna taluk on Friday, bringing traffic to a standstill for more than an hour, according to reports.
The demonstration was led by Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha state president Badagalapura Nagendra. Demanders asked for a minimum price of ₹5,500 per tonne for sugarcane and called for a farm loan waiver. Several farmer leaders and supporters raised slogans against the state and central governments and assembled near the toll plaza entrance.
Police efforts, service-road attempts and confrontation
Police attempted to maintain movement on the highway by diverting vehicles onto the service road, but protesters repeatedly entered the service lane and halted vehicles. The resulting pushing and jostling between demonstrators and personnel lasted for about an hour, the supplied report said. Vehicles were reported queued for several kilometres, leaving passengers stranded.
- Location: Ganangur toll plaza, Srirangapatna taluk, Bengaluru–Mysuru National Highway
- Participants: Farmers from Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar; Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha
- Key demands: ₹5,500 per tonne for sugarcane; farm loan waiver
Political involvement and administrative response
Congress-supported MLA Darshan Puttannaiah joined the protest and urged the government to raise the price paid to sugarcane growers. Farmer leaders submitted a memorandum of demands to N. Chaluvarayaswamy, identified in the report as the district in-charge minister and the state’s water resources minister.
Chaluvarayaswamy said a meeting of farmer representatives would be held in Belagavi on October 26, where Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar would take an appropriate decision on the demands.
The minister also said farmers would need to reach a decision on declining yields and pledged support for their efforts against what he described as discrimination between north and south India by the Union government. He added that cabinet approval had already been given for an increase in unspecified support measures, according to the supplied report.
Local implications and wider context
The Bengaluru–Mysuru highway is a critical artery linking Mysuru with the state capital and surrounding districts. A blockade on this route can have immediate consequences for commuters, commercial transport and supply chains serving Mysuru’s markets and industries. The protest underlines continuing rural distress in cane-growing belts and the political salience of procurement price and loan-relief demands ahead of discussions at higher levels of government.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Demonstration site | Ganangur toll plaza, Srirangapatna taluk |
| Main organisers | Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (state president: Badagalapura Nagendra) |
| Political support | MLA Darshan Puttannaiah (Congress-supported) |
| Core demands | ₹5,500/tonne for sugarcane; farm loan waiver |
| Next official action | Meeting of farmer representatives in Belagavi on October 26 (per N. Chaluvarayaswamy) |
The supplied report did not provide an independent estimate of the exact number of vehicles or passengers affected. It also did not detail any arrests, injuries or formal FIR registrations arising from the confrontation. Officials quoted in the report indicated that further discussions would occur at the Belagavi meeting, where Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was expected to consider the farmers’ demands.
For Mysuru residents, the blockade is a reminder of how agrarian protests in neighbouring districts can quickly obstruct regional mobility and commerce. The outcome of the Belagavi meeting and any subsequent government measures will be closely watched by growers in the sugar belt and by transporters using the Bengaluru–Mysuru corridor.
