Mumbai-Bengaluru highway blocked for 30 hours in Satara over sugarcane price protest

The farmers' agitation over sugarcane prices is now hitting ordinary travellers. Traffic on the Mumbai-Bengaluru national highway has been shut for 30 hours at a stretch because of the protest by the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

The agitation demands a first instalment of Rs 4,500 per tonne for sugarcane. More than a thousand vehicles are stuck on the highway, including heavy vehicles, private cars and passenger vehicles. Many people have found it impossible to reach their destinations. Long-distance truck drivers are the worst affected.

Thousands of travellers and drivers are stranded on the road, and their travel plans have been thrown into disarray. They have had to wait for hours without food and water, and anger among them is growing. In some places they also had an altercation with the police.

After traffic came to a halt, travellers faced a shortage of food and drinking water. Drivers say the administration made no alternative arrangements and sent no help, which has added to their hardship. They alleged that some shopkeepers have taken advantage of the situation to raise the price of water bottles. A bottle that costs Rs 20 is being sold for Rs 50, which has angered travellers.

With the protest unresolved and no concrete step being taken to help travellers, drivers have questioned the role of the administration. Angry drivers had a heated exchange with the police who arrived to handle the situation. They say they have no objection to the farmers' demands. Their question is whether providing water, food and security to people stranded by the agitation is not the administration's responsibility.

The highway blockade has also affected commercial freight movement. Vehicles carrying essential services are also finding it difficult to get through. On one side is the farmers' agitation, on the other the growing hardship of ordinary travellers. All eyes are now on what steps the administration takes to restore traffic.