Garbage piles up in Haryana as sanitation workers on strike

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, October 25

Heaps of garbage are piling up in cities and towns across Haryana as the sanitation workers are on strike in the state since October 19 to press for the fulfilment of their demands.

The strike of the municipal employees, including sanitation staff, was initially announced for two days - October 19 and 20. However, the employees extended their strike till October 23 and then till October 26 as their demands were not met.

Residents of the state are facing grave inconvenience as garbage is not being lifted due to the strike.

“A big heap of garbage lying in front of our home is getting bigger with every passing day as the residents continue to dump their household waste, which has not been lifted for several days,” said Asha Rani, a resident of old Rohtak city. Residents complain that the unlifted garbage not only raises stink, but also provides the breeding ground for mosquitoes which may spread diseases.

Meanwhile, the municipal workers, who have been protesting against the non-payment of their salaries for several months and to get the services of contractual employees regularised, seem to be in no mood to end their strike and return to work until their demands are met. The striking employees observed a ‘black Diwali’ and took out a protest march to press for the fulfilment of their demands. They raised slogans against the state government and warned to extend their strike if their concerns were not addressed. Naresh Kumar Shastri, president of the Nagarpalika Karmchari Sangh, Haryana, said nearly 40,000 workers serving at 57 municipal committees, 22 municipal councils and 11 municipal corporations of Haryana were on strike despite all-out efforts being made by the state government to end the strike. “Instead of fulfilling the genuine demands of the employees, the state government is using force and foul means to sabotage the strike,” alleged Shastri. He maintained that a decision on the further course of action would be taken tomorrow.

Karnal: Congress state working president Suresh Gupta extended support to the sanitation workers and joined their protest on Tuesday. He accused the state government of not paying heed to the demands of the sanitation workers.

Gurugram (OC): Roads of the millennium city have turned into garbage dumps due to the ongoing strike of the sanitation workers.

The workers extended their strike till Wednesday, which made the situation worse.

The municipal claimed that they would not clean the roads, public places and sewer cleaning during the strike. The civic body officials tried to talk to the union heads, but the latter did not agree with them and extended their strike till October 26.

The situation of the city roads is in a worse condition and on Monday, garbage was removed by the Gurugram police from some main roads.

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