Sanitation workers’ strike: Hoshiarpur struggles with festering garbage crisis

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Hoshiarpur, September 24

The strike by sanitation workers of the Hoshiarpur Municipal Corporation entered its eighth day on Wednesday, following a state-wide call by the Municipal Employees Action Committee Punjab. As a result, large parts of the city have turned into virtual garbage dumps, with waste accumulating across streets and public spaces, severely disrupting daily life.

The timing of the strike — during the festive season — has aggravated the situation. Residents are facing mounting inconvenience due to uncollected garbage, which has become a major health hazard. Prominent locations such as the Civil Hospital area, Sutaihari Road, Kanak Mandi Chowk, Railway Road, DAV College, Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk and several other parts of the city are littered with large piles of garbage, raising fears of disease outbreaks.

Hoshiarpur being the constituency of Local Government Minister Dr Ravjot Singh, no concrete steps have been taken so far to resolve the impasse and restore sanitation services.

Several councillors have extended their support to the striking sanitation workers. Ward No. 8 Councillor Mukh Ram expressed concern over the impact of the strike on upcoming religious events. He said the garbage-laden streets would hurt the religious sentiments of devotees during processions featuring Hanuman and Ram Ji’s tableaux during Dussehra.

Councillors Meena Sharma and Varun Sharma Ashu from Ward No. 5 also backed the workers’ demands, saying sanitation workers provide a vital public service and deserve fair treatment. “The strike has led to severe filth in the city, causing distress to residents,” they said, urging the state government to act promptly.

They called on the government to accept the workers’ demands — including salary hikes, regularisation of employment and an end to the contract-based hiring system — to bring the strike to an end and restore normalcy during the festive days.

Councillors stressed sanitation workers play an essential role in maintaining the cleanliness of the city and ensuring a healthy environment for all.

Stir over ‘anti-employee’ policies: MC staff

Municipal Employees Action Committee Patron Kulwant Singh Saini and President Karanjot Adia have alleged that ever since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government came to power in the state, employees have been subjected to bullying and misinformation. They stated the latest move by the government was an “anti-employee” decision aimed at economically weakening municipal corporations and councils, while rendering workers employed on outsourced contracts and DC rates jobless. The committee leaders said no such decision against employees would be allowed to take effect. In protest, an indefinite state-level strike has now been launched. A large number of employees gathered on the occasion, including Somnath Adia, Jai Gopal, Vikramjit, Kailash Gill, Har Vilas, Joginderpal, Dev Waraich, Ashu Waraich, Pradeep Adia, Pawan Kumar and Subhash Adia.