Coal Hopper Collapse At Odisha Cement Factory: Several Workers Feared Trapped

Sundargarh: Several workers are feared to be trapped under debris after a coal hopper collapsed at Dalmia Cement Factory in Rajgangpur at Odisha 's Sundargarh district on Thursday. 

Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far. 

Police along with fire and rescue department personnel have rushed to the spot to save the trapped workers.

Soon, several workers assembled at the main gate of the factory and blamed the factory's management for the mishap. The workers said their repeated requests to the authorities to audit the structural safety fell on deaf ears, which ultimately led to the mishap. 

Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam is set to embark on a two-day visit to Odisha starting Friday, during which he will tour the Konark Sun Temple, a vaccine manufacturing plant and the World Skill Centre in Bhubaneswar, officials said. 

The visit assumes significance as it will be Shanmugaratnam’s first visit to the state ahead of 'Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha conclave', scheduled for January 28 and 29. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, MPs, and officials.

According to the schedule, the Singaporean President will arrive here at the airport around 11.30 am. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, other ministers and senior officials will meet him in a hotel later. 

In the afternoon, he will take part in a MoU signing ceremony to extend cooperation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to further enhance the skill development ecosystem, particularly for the semiconductor industry in the state. 

Shanmugaratnam is also scheduled to visit the World Skill Centre, which was set up here by Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education and Education Services (ITEES) with funding from the Asian Development Bank. 

On January 18, the President will visit the Sun Temple in Konark and the vaccine manufacturing plant of Bharat Biotech on the outskirts of the state capital. (with PTI inputs)