The heads of department staff — section officers and ministerial officers — have decided to intensify their pen-down agitation by staging a gherao of Naveen Nivas, chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s official residence in Bhubaneswar.

The pen-down agitation completed 37 days on Saturday.

Section officers and ministerial officers of 60 odd heads of departments have been on an indefinite strike since August 18 to demand restructuring of their cadre according to the chief minister approval order issued more than five months ago. The agitation is being spearheaded under the joint banner of Odisha Heads Department Section Officers’ Association (OHDSOA) and Odisha Heads Department Ministerial Officers’ Association (OHDMOA).

Madhu Mallik, advisor to the associations, said the general council of the two associations would meet on Monday to decide the schedule for demonstration at Naveen Nivas.

“We have been left with no option but to take recourse to it after what has followed the meeting of senior officers of the Chief Minister’s Office with representatives of the two associations five days ago,” he said.

The representatives of the associations had a meeting in which top officials, including the principal secretary, special secretary and additional secretary to the chief minister were present.

“The meeting on September 17 lasted for nearly three hours with threadbare discussion on our demands. Then, the seven-member delegation of representatives of the two associations was assured of being called the next day for a final round of discussion on the demands. But it has not materialised.”

Initially, the gherao of Naveen Nivas was planned for September 19. But it was called off after we were called for discussions on September 17. “Now, as the discussion has apparently ended in a fiasco, we will now go ahead with the gherao plan,” Mallik said.

Over the past fortnight, the heads of department staff have resorted to picketing outside their offices and preventing senior officers from entering.

“The section officers and ministerial officers in 60 odd heads of department offices, including the offices of the revenue divisional commissioner in Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambapur are picketing outside their offices till 4pm,” OHDSOA secretary Kulamani Nayak said.