It was tense at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, the new legislature building of Karnataka in Belgaum. A farmer had committed suicide by consuming poison just a few furlongs away on Wednesday.
Farmers have been staging protests for, among others, fixing of a remunerative cane price for four days outside Soudha.
In the afternoon, Vithal Arabhavi, from Kankanawadi village of Raibag taluk, who was participating in the protests, consumed poison at the venue. He was rushed to the KLE Hospital in Belgaum. He died in the evening. The farmers had been demanding Rs 3,500 a tonne of cane and compensation for the loss suffered due to Bt cotton cultivation. The issue was raised in the House on Tuesday. It was expected the government would come out with a response on Wednesday, but that did not happen.
