Two days ahead of Diwali, several areas in the national Capital witnessed a complete mess with residents complaining of overpowering stench, due to the ongoing strike of sanitation workers of east, south and north corporations.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) workers started an indefinite strike on October 11, over the irregular payments of salaries and other pending demands. The strike was joined by the workers of South and North DMC on Monday.
Around 54,000 sanitation workers are on strike now. The situation could degenerate into a major crisis during Diwali, if the civic bodies do not manage to convince the workers to end the strike.
The corporations, however, has said that they have distributed salaries and Diwali bonuses but the sanitation workers are unwilling to give up. They have announced the strike will continue until their arrears are released and something concrete would be announced on their long pending demand of regularisation.
Several areas in east Delhi, including Patparganj and Laxmi Nagar are already in a mess due to the strike with roads piled up with the garbage. The impact of the strike in other municipalities was visible in Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, Narela, Rohini and City zone in the north and in Najafgarh and west zones in the south.
The sanitation workers also threatened to lock down the headquarters of South and North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday. In east Delhi, the sanitation workers held a protest outside the office of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and burnt his effigy.
“We don’t want to create inconvenience for residents during festivities, but we are helpless. For us, Diwali has always been grim as we are never given our salaries in time. We will continue this strike until our demands are met. We are thankful to other unions joining us in our strike,” said Sanjay Gehlot, president of MCD Swachtta Karamachari Union.
“Officials at the EDMC said that they don’t have money to pay our arrears as of now. Now they are dependent on the Delhi government for funds,” he added.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court pulled up the Delhi government saying, “There must be somebody with whom you are not at war.” The court also directed the striking sanitation employees not to obstruct cleaning of garbage as they caused serious diseases like dengue.
The bench was hearing a plea seeking direction to the authorities to ensure that the workers of East and North Delhi Municipal Corporations call off their strike, which started on October 11 and October 16 respectively and resume work.
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