Ludhiana rice millers plan protest over unfair space allocation

Rice millers in Ludhiana are planning to protest due to alleged unfair treatment by local officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The Jagraon Rice Millers Association claims that millers in Jagraon are not getting their fair share of storage space compared to other areas in the district. Association president Ankur Gupta stated that FCI and state government officials had promised to ensure equal space for all millers. However, he said these promises have not been kept. According to data from the FCI portal, only 23.48% of space has been allocated to Jagraon millers, while other areas received allocations between 35% and 55%. Gupta described the situation as "blatant discrimination" and accused the district manager of favoring certain millers with closer ties to him. He added that the unfair allocation is harming business and causing significant financial losses for Jagraon millers. The association has submitted complaints via email to several high-ranking officials, including the FCI chairperson in New Delhi and Punjab's chief minister's office. Gupta mentioned they have raised this issue with the district manager multiple times without any response. If no action is taken by Monday, the millers plan to hold a protest.