Ahmedabad: 12,000 sanitation strike work, trash streets

Heaps of garbage lined the streets of the nation's 12th cleanest city on Monday when 12,000 sanitation workers went on an indefinite strike for their long-pending demands. To further rub salt on the wound, the workers emptied garbage from dumpers on roads at some 15 locations.

Workers of all the zones, except four wards of new west zone, struck work on Monday without notifying the city authorities. In response, civic chief Vijay Nehra said, "This is blackmail and we are not going to compromise. We are spending around Rs 325 crore on their salaries and have found that were are not getting even 50 per cent result," said Nehra.

Meanwhile, the workers have also indicated that they are not willing to concede grounds and are ready to face a legal battle. "We had submitted a letter to the commissioner before going on strike. Now, we are ready to fight and can even go to jail for it," said Chandresh Makwana of Nauka Mandal.