Following the agreement, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti suspended the protest at the Kini toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru Highway at 1 am on Friday. He also withdrew the decision to observe a shutdown in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts on Friday, November 6. The highway, which had remained blocked for three days, was subsequently reopened to traffic.
Shetti had taken an aggressive stand that the highway would not be reopened until farmers received an initial sugarcane payment of ₹4,500 per tonne. Under his leadership, the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana launched its agitation at the Kini toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru Highway on November 3. The organisation also blocked the highway at Nagthane in Satara district, bringing traffic movement to a complete standstill.
The blockade resulted in long queues of stranded vehicles along the highway. The disruption also affected Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) services during the Diwali period. As many as 166 ST bus services operating from Kolhapur towards Pune and Mumbai were cancelled.
Explaining the agreement, Raju Shetti said sugar factory owners had initially proposed a payment structure of ₹3,800 per tonne plus ₹200. However, the farmers' organisation agreed to reduce its demand from ₹4,500 to ₹4,200 per tonne.
According to Shetti, the factory owners cited the availability of funds as a reason for proposing a phased payment. Under the final agreement, farmers will receive ₹3,900 per tonne as the immediate first payment, ₹100 at the end of the current crushing season and another ₹200 before the next crushing season begins.
Shetti said the settlement had been calculated by assuming a sugar price of ₹4,500 per quintal. If the sugar price rises above ₹4,500 per quintal, the additional revenue generated from sugar will be distributed between farmers and sugar factories in a 70:30 ratio, with 70 per cent going to farmers and 30 per cent to factories.
Kolhapur Sugarcane Price Formula Proposed for Sangli and Satara
Following the settlement, Shetti announced that the agitation had been suspended. He also said a decision had been taken at meetings in Sangli and Satara to implement the Kolhapur sugarcane pricing formula in both districts.
He warned that the respective district guardian ministers and district collectors must ensure the formula is implemented in Sangli and Satara. Otherwise, the organisation would have to launch separate agitations in those districts.
Earlier on Friday, a meeting on sugarcane prices was held at the Kolhapur District Collector's Office. Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, former minister Prakash Awade, selected office-bearers of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, the district collector and the Sugar Joint Director attended the meeting.
During the discussions, Minister Mushrif spoke to several sugar factory owners over the phone and presented a proposal on the payment structure.
According to information provided by the District Collector's Office, the proposal included an immediate first payment of ₹3,900 per tonne, followed by ₹100 after the completion of the crushing season, taking the total to ₹4,000 per tonne. If the sugar price remained above ₹4,500 per quintal throughout the year, farmers would receive an additional ₹200 per tonne. If sugar prices remained higher, further sugarcane payments would be calculated according to an agreed formula.
The final agreement of ₹4,200 per tonne brought the 61-hour agitation at the Kini toll plaza to an end, cleared the Pune-Bengaluru Highway for traffic and led to the withdrawal of the proposed shutdown in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts.
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