Forest labourers at Alapalli unpaid since June; they warn of a sit-in from October 13

Gadchiroli: Daily-wage forest labourers at Maharashtra Timber Depot No. 1 in Alapalli, in the district's remote interior, say they have not been paid for four months, Navbharat reported. The workers are engaged through a Chandrapur-based contract agency. Having received no wages since June 2026, they have decided to stop work.

The labourers say they clean the office and various plots, handle work related to vehicle loads, help with fielding and assist with other government work, yet go unpaid; their families are struggling to buy food and shopkeepers have stopped giving them credit. They also allege that they are not getting the facilities promised under the agreed terms.

They are demanding immediate payment of arrears since June 2026, regular wages in the first week of every month, ESIC health insurance for all workers, monthly provident fund (EPF) deposits and the arrears for those whose EPF has not been deposited since January 2025. They have submitted a memorandum to Dr Ajay Kankadalwar, general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and a former president of the Gadchiroli zilla parishad, seeking his intervention.

If the dues are not paid within two or three days, the workers have warned, they will begin a sit-in outside the range forest office at Maharashtra Timber Depot No. 1, Alapalli, at 11 am on October 13, and go on an indefinite hunger strike if their demands are not met. The response of the contract agency or the forest department was not part of the report.

Source: Navbharat