Two sugarcane farmers were injured on Wednesday after an agitation in Maharashtra took a violent turn. The police in Ahmednagar district are believed to have fired plastic bullets and teargas shells to quell a protest demanding an increase in the fair and remunerative price for the crop, The New Indian Express reported.
This price is the minimum amount sugar mills have to pay farmers.
The protest began last week when farmers at the Gangamai Sugar Mill in Shevgaon city demanded Rs 3,100 per tonne for sugarcane. After the mill owners refused, demonstrators from the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and other outfits began blockading roads to restrict the movement of trucks carrying sugarcane into the mill, The Hindu reported.
“Commuters faced major problems as protestors blocked the roads connecting Ahmednagar and Aurangabad districts,” Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma told The Hindu.
On Tuesday, a complaint was filed against the agitators and soon after, the police arrested 13 of them. The farmers resumed their protest on Wednesday and began to burn vehicles and pelt stones at policemen, according to The New Indian Express. The police said this forced them to take riot-control measures.
In the ensuing clashes, farmers Uddhav Vikram Napari and Baburao Dukare received pellet injuries. They are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Ahmednagar. Policemen Suresh Sakpale, Sudarshan Mundhe and Govind Omase also suffered serious injuries and are being treated in Shevgaon, The Hindu reported.
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