Nabarangpur: There is growing worker unrest at Mangalam Timbers in Nabarangpur. The workers are protesting over the reappointment of a dismissed employee and the cancellation of the transfer of three others. On Saturday evening, a tripartite meeting chaired by District Collector Dr. Shubhankar Mahapatra failed to resolve the issue, leading to an escalation of the protest. The meeting was attended by district officials, including SP Mihir Kumar Panda, Additional District Collector, Sub-Collector, Nabarangpur MLA Gourishankar Majhi, and others from the Mangalam Timbers Employee Association. The unit head informed that the matter would be escalated to the headquarters for a decision. Expressing dissatisfaction, the District Collector directed immediate resolution of the issue.
Earlier in January, the Mangalam Timbers Employees Association suspended four employees, including General Secretary Sanjay Kumar Pothal, worker Nirmal Kumar Suna, Trinath Bhattarai, and Sameer Pattnayak, for alleged misconduct. Sameer Pattnayak was dismissed from the company, while Sanjay, Nirmal, and Trinath were transferred to a different Mangalam Cement plant in Kota, Rajasthan. The workers’ unrest intensified as they protested the dismissals and transfers, with the workers demanding the reinstatement of Sameer and the cancellation of the other three dismissals. The union leaders have warned that if their demands are not met by Sunday, 84 union members will go on strike and halt work until their demands are fulfilled. The union has issued a warning, and MLA Majhi has called for an immediate resolution to stop the unrest.
