The protest began around noon when Congress leaders and workers gathered at Mahatma Gandhi Chowk to pay floral tributes to the Father of the Nation on his martyrdom day. Soon after, the demonstrators moved to a liquor outlet at Signal Chowk, raising slogans against the government for not declaring January 30 as a dry day. The Congress alleged that the move reflected insensitivity towards national sentiments in pursuit of revenue from liquor sales.
From there, the protesters marched to the district collectorate, where they submitted a memorandum addressed to the Governor. In the memorandum, the Congress accused the state government of undermining long-standing traditions by allowing liquor sales on Gandhi’s death anniversary, a day that has historically been observed as a dry day since Independence. The party urged the Governor to intervene and direct the government to immediately halt liquor sales and prevent what it described as “socially harmful activities” on the day.
The agitation intensified later in the day when a large number of Congress leaders and workers reached the main road near Kolaibahal mandi and staged a chakka jam, bringing vehicular movement to a halt. Protesters sat on the road and raised slogans demanding that the paddy procurement deadline be extended.
Addressing the gathering, Raigarh city Congress president Shakha Yadav said many farmers were yet to sell their entire paddy produce and would suffer financial losses if procurement ended as scheduled. He alleged that despite pre-election assurances by the BJP to purchase the full paddy output of farmers, the government was now conducting door-to-door verification and compelling farmers to surrender acreage records, creating apprehension that their produce would not be fully procured.
“The time limit for paddy procurement should be extended by at least one month,” Yadav said, adding that more than half of the farmers were still waiting for their produce to be purchased. He asserted that the Congress would continue to stand with farmers until all eligible paddy was procured.
Several senior party leaders, including district Congress presidents from urban and rural units, former MLA Prakash Nayak, municipal opposition leader Salim Niyaria and other local leaders, participated in the protest.
With farmer concerns persisting and political pressure mounting, the protest has signalled that the Congress is likely to intensify its agitation if the government does not respond to its demands in the coming days.
