On a Tuesday morning, farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka began a protest at the Kognoli toll plaza on the Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48). They demanded a fair price of ₹5,500 for sugarcane and sought revisions to ethanol rates.
The protest caused significant disruption to traffic on NH-48, affecting vehicles traveling from Kolhapur towards Belagavi and Bengaluru.
Inspector General of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma and Pune Range Superintendent of Police Dr Shivaji Pawar advised commuters to avoid the route unless necessary and suggested alternative routes via Satara, Miraj, and Gokak.
Ranjan Kumar Sharma issued a statement in Kannada advising commuters to use alternative routes.
Police also requested Google Maps officials to mark the affected stretch of NH-48 as closed and to display traffic alerts until the situation normalizes.
Ranjan Kumar Sharma issued a statement in Kannada advising commuters to use alternative routes. Shivaji Pawar said, "The impact of the agitation on interstate traffic on NH 48 must be taken into account while planning journeys." Ranjan Kumar Sharma also said, "commuters would be informed once the situation improves."