Garbage piling up, NSS volunteers pick up the broom in Karnal

Parveen Arora

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Karnal, October 28

With sanitation workers of the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) keeping off work in the “CM’s city” due to the ongoing strike, which entered the 10th day today, various sections of society came together to “sweep the city clean”.

NSS volunteers of various schools cleaned the vicinity of their schools, while sportspersons and staff of the Sports Department took brooms to clean the Nyaypuri area. The city generates around 140 tonnes of garbage daily. Nearly 500-tonne waste was lying at different places on Friday morning, of which nearly 180 tonnes were lifted by the evening from nearly 40 secondary dumping points.

However, garbage is still piling up at Mughal Canal, near Dyal Singh College, Banso Gate, the railway station, Sector 12, the old vegetable market and at secondary dumping points.

Following an appeal by KMC Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar, NSS volunteers of the Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Shri Ram Charit Manas Senior Secondary School, Tagore Bal Niketan and VUMM Jain Public School, besides sportspersons, staff and coaches of the Sports Department chipped in to clean the city.

Residents of various wards also picked up brooms to clean their surroundings. They even cleaned roads and lifted garbage.

“It’s our moral duty to keep our city clean, so we picked brooms to clean the roads,” said Ashok, a sportsperson. Schools have said they will continue the cleanliness drive. “Our NSS volunteers cleaned roads near the school and we will continue with the same spirit in the coming days also,” said Rajan Lamba, Principal, Tagore Bal Niketan.

“I have appealed to educational institutions, NGOs, councillors, religious organisations and residents’ welfare associations to chip in. I am happy that they are contributing in ensuring cleanliness by sweeping the roads,” said the KMC Commissioner.

The KMC has 1,063 sanitation workers, including 154 permanent. They are on strike since October 19 over their demands, including the regularisation of services of the ad hoc staff, filling of vacant posts and abolishing the Haryana Kaushal Rojgar Nigam portal.

The strike has hit the sanitation work in the city. Though the KMC has deployed around 100 private workers to clean roads and lift garbage, protesting employees are creating hurdles. The KMC had to take the help of the police and 24 persons were arrested for stopping private workers from discharging their duties three days ago.

FIR against Gharaunda councillor

KMC Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar said they had got an FIR registered against a councillor of the Gharaunda MC, Aman Joshi, for provoking sanitation workers and also dumping garbage outside the office of the Gharaunda MC.