Ropar irony: Authorities preach cleanliness under Swachhta Pakhwada as residents grapple with garbage crisis

Even as government agencies observed Swachhta Pakhwada across Ropar district in Punjab with much fanfare through cycle rallies and essay writing competitions, the urban areas of Ropar, Anandpur Sahib and Nangal continue to reel under a garbage crisis. For the past six days, sanitation services have been on a standstill due to the ongoing strike by contract and outsourced employees of municipal councils.

The striking employees have been staging dharnas in front of their respective MC offices, bringing garbage collection to a halt. As a result, waste is littered on roadsides and in parks, leading to unhygienic conditions. Residents have complained that despite repeated appeals, no concrete solution has emerged.

The municipal authorities, unable to mobilise sanitation workers, have advised residents to personally dump their waste at designated solid waste dumping sites.

Ashish Kalia, union leader of MC employees, while talking to The Tribune, said that the contract and outsourced workers were anxious over job security. “The state government has started the process of issuing a joint tender to hand over sanitation and water supply works of all MCs to a single party. Earlier, each municipal council issued contracts independently. Centralising the contracts will not only increase the financial burden on councils but also reduce the number of employees,” he alleged.

Kalia added that nearly 75 per cent of the MC workforce was employed on a contract or outsourced basis. “The strike has completely paralysed municipal functioning, especially in the area of sanitation,” he said.

Meanwhile, residents fear that if the strike continues, the mounting garbage could trigger health hazards. Ironically, while Swachhta Pakhwada was being celebrated to spread awareness about cleanliness, the district’s cities are facing one of the worst sanitation crises in recent times.

When contacted, Dinesh Chadha, AAP MLA from Ropar, said that the government was trying to resolve the issues being raised by contractual and outsourced employees of the MCs in Ropar. “The employees have a misconception that a joint contract is being issued for sanitation works in the state. The tenders will be done on the MC level only. I hope that the issue would be resolved soon,” he said.