Sanitation workers halt civic work over non-payment of salaries

Expect another round of garbage stink in your neighbourhood in the coming days as Delhiites will once again face the heat of the ongoing sanitation crisis in the national Capital. 

After promising due disposal of salaries along with other facilities to sanitation workers few months back, the Municipal agencies (MCDs) have failed to give a single penny to the safai karamcharis. 

Not only will the special sanitation drive under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan be affected till the workers’ demands are met, the littered streets amid the festive spirit of Dussehra, Durga Puja and the upcoming Diwali will only add to the chaos in various nooks of the city. With the ongoing strike, which began on Friday, the stand-off between Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government and BJP-ruled three Municipal Corporations in the Capital surfaced again as the blame-game started over fund release. 

“The Corporations have been facing money crunch and it required immediate release of fund from the state government,” informed senior functionaries of all three cash-strapped agencies. The Delhi government, however, reiterated that they have released money on certain intervals hence they are helpless to do more. Notably, the Capital had witnessed a similar situation on March and June this year when nearly 70,000 sanitation workers, had gone on strike demanding release of their salaries.

The move of sanitation workers had resulted in garbage pile-ups in every nook and corner of the city and the crisis, in all probability, will deepen this time as the workers are reluctant to resume work. Early on Friday morning, sanitation workers of all the 12 zones under banner of, United Front of MCD workers, stopped collecting garbage from their respective areas and cleaning streets, demanding immediate release of their salaries.“We need to be paid two months’ wages along with other demands. We are hungry, we don’t have anything to feed our children, which is why we are here on the streets protesting. 

“During the earlier strike, we were assured that we would get our salaries on time but the Corporations have failed to do fulfil their promise. In one or two days, employees of other Corporations will also join us as they to have not received salaries for the past two months,” said Rajendra Mewati, leader of sanitation workers. Like the earlier strikes, sanitation workers not only refused to clean up the streets, but gathered at various locations and dumped rotting garbage on 

the streets. 

“The MCDs are responsible for paralysing civic services as it is not willing to pay our salaries. We want the government to take notice and give us our dues. If they pay us our wages, we are willing to return to work tomorrow,. Today we met with the mayors and commissioners of all the three Corporations but we did not get assurance regarding our demands,” said Sanjay Gehlot, another 

union leader.