Congress protests paddy procurement issue in Raigarh

Raigarh | Correspondent: The Congress party staged a major protest in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, on Tuesday over the issue of paddy procurement. The Congress targeted the government over the large-scale shortage of rice during storage, which is officially being attributed to spoilage caused by rats and natural decay.

Led by Congress MLA Umesh Patel from Kharsia, farmers protested at the Raigarh Collectorate and submitted a memorandum, alleging that paddy worth crores of rupees had been "disappeared" under the pretext of spoilage.

Patel cited alleged discrepancies of Rs 7 crore in Kawardha and Rs 9 crore in Raigarh and warned that a large-scale tractor protest would be launched if the farmers' problems were not addressed.

On the other hand, the BJP has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. State spokesperson K.S. Chauhan clarified that spoilage has decreased due to AI-based monitoring and GPS tracking.