Residents face mounting civic crisis as sanitation workers’ strike in Ropar enters second week

The sanitation workers strike in Ropar district has now stretched into second week, turning into a major civic crisis with garbage heaps dotting streets, overflowing dustbins in every corner and marketplaces littered with solid waste. What began as a protest over job security and regularisation has now snowballed into a political and administrative challenge, with residents forced to live amid growing filth. Aggrieved at growing garbage dumps around their localities people have started burning solid waste adding pollution to the area due burning of plastic.

Government assurances fail to break ice

Education and Public Relations Minister Harjot Singh Bains has been at the forefront of negotiations with striking workers in Ropar district. In a meeting on Thursday evening, he assured them that the Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had no plans to discontinue their services. According to Bains, a meeting of the Local Government Department’s sub-committee would soon be convened to deliberate on their demands.

He clarified that the government’s move to introduce mechanical cleaning in five municipal corporations was only an experiment. If it succeeded, it would be expanded to 45 municipal councils across the state. However, he stressed that the introduction of machines would not lead to retrenchment of existing sanitation staff, and all jobs were fully secured.

Workers fears and escalating protest

Despite these assurances, sanitation workers remain unconvinced. Their leaders allege that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was preparing to hand over sanitation services to private contractors under a centralised contract system, a step they say would undermine both their livelihoods and bargaining power.

The workers have put forward demands including regularisation of services, enhanced wages and guarantees against privatisation. The strike has intensified in recent days with dramatic protests.

In Anandpur Sahib, Municipal Council president Harjeet Singh Jeeta attempted to clean streets by hiring private labourers, but workers blocked the move. In Nangal, protesters went further by dumping garbage outside Minister Harjot Singh Bains residence and staging a dharna at the clinic of AAP district convenor Sanjeev Gautam.

Administrative and political intervention

The district administration, led by Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Singh Walia, has made attempts to broker peace with striking sanitation staff. Officials initially persuaded sanitation workers of the Ropar Municipal Council to end their strike, but they later withdrew under pressure from state-level leaders of their union.

The strike has also acquired a political dimension, with the Opposition parties stepping in. Leaders from both the Congress and the BJP have expressed solidarity with the protesting workers. Former Punjab Assembly Speaker KP Rana and BJP state president Subhash Sharma are among those who joined dharnas, accusing the AAP government of mishandling the crisis.

Residents pay the price

Amid political sparring and deadlock in negotiations, it is the ordinary residents of Ropar district who are paying the heaviest price. Piles of rotting garbage and foul smell have become a reality in the urban areas. Concerns about public health, mosquito breeding and water contamination are rising sharply as the strike drags on.