City comes to a halt after workers pile up garbage

With the joining of a section of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation employees including sanitation workers, engineers, teachers and gardeners, among others in the ongoing protest of the EDMC sanitation workers (safai karmis) on Tuesday, civic services have almost come to a halt in the Capital. 

Not only the Trans-Yamuna region but North Delhi’s Rohini area also witnessed paralysing of civic services. The agitated staff not only staged protests but also dumped heaps of garbage at key roads, streets and in front of Corporation offices. They also targeted areas of key councillors and MLAs threatening to make situation worse in the coming days.

As per the report, a section of North MCD employees went on strike on Tuesday over non-payment of salaries, an employees’ union official said. This happened even as EDMC employees, despite repeated appeals by the Delhi government, refused to withdraw their strike that began on Friday. General Secretary of the United Front of MCD Employees Rajendra Mewati told Millennium Post that there were more employees joining the protest include sanitation workers, engineers, teachers and gardeners, among others. “Majority of employees have not received salaries for the past two to four months besides other allowances. The retired employees are not getting benefits accordingly and even money deposited in Provident Fund (PF) accounts has been withdrawn by the functionaries, hence, leaving no option open for the unions but to agitate under a united banner,” said Mewati.

Meanwhile, garbage stink in East Delhi continued to spread on Tuesday as the workers refused to resume duties. The workers, intensifying their protests, engaged in more and more garbage pile-ups across the region. They claimed to throw garbage piles outside offices of EDMC Councillors and MLAs demanding “immediate” release of funds for their salaries. “It has been two-three months that the workers have not received their salaries and other dues. Despite repeated requests, our demands have gone unheard. Hence, we have staged a protest here. We will call off work for an indefinite period if our demands are not met,” Sanjay Gehlot, president of Delhi Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukta Morcha said.

Denying possibility to call off strike despite the announcement by a few unions, Gehlot said: “We have continued to be on strike and sanitation workers led by us have piled up garbage in front of the camp office of MLAs and Councillors in protest against the Delhi government’s failure to provide adequate funds to the EDMC. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will target offices of their leaders and will convene a meeting of all unions to decide the future course of action.”