Kolhapur: Travellers from Mumbai, Pune and Satara heading to Karnataka should avoid travelling on Pune-Bengaluru National Highway (NH48) if possible due to severe disruption caused by a farmers’ blockade near Kognoli on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, Kolhapur Range Special Inspector General of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma said.Around 1am on Wednesday, Sharma issued a video advisory urging commuters to postpone travel plans or use alternate routes to reach Belagavi. He suggested travelling from Satara via Rahimatpur, Tasgaon, Miraj and Gokak to Belagavi. Another alternative route, he said, is from Karad through Ashta, Sangli and Miraj before joining the route to Belagavi.The blockade has been launched by Maharashtra’s Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and Karnataka’s Rayat Sangha after talks with govt failed. “The farmers’ groups are demanding to make sugar MSP Rs 50 per kg and ethanol procurement price Rs 70 per litre days before start of annual crushing season. The demands if met will make sugar mills capable to pay farmers Rs 5,000 per tonne as per their demand,” said Raju Shetti, president of Maharashtra’s outfit.The agitation at toll plazas beyond Kognoli has caused major inconvenience to commuters and disrupted traffic on the busy interstate highway corridor.
