Mohali: Protesting sanitation workers dump garbage outside GMADA office

The sanitation workers’ union said if immediate steps were not taken to manage waste disposal or if the dumping ground was not reopened, the city’s cleaning work will be stopped and workers will go on strike

After Punjab local bodies secretary Ajoy Sharma on Tuesday directed the Mohali municipal corporation (MC) to stop garbage dumping at the Phase-8 Industrial Area dumping ground in the wake of high court’s recent directions, sanitation workers on Friday staged a protest by throwing waste in front of the GMADA office.

The sanitation workers’ union said if immediate steps were not taken to manage waste disposal or if the dumping ground was not reopened, the city’s cleaning work will be stopped and workers will go on strike. (HT Photo)

The sanitation workers’ union said if immediate steps were not taken to manage waste disposal or if the dumping ground was not reopened, the city’s cleaning work will be stopped and workers will go on strike.

The union leaders also said all garbage of the city will be piled up in front of the GMADA and MC offices in the coming days.

The recent orders have halted dumping operations of approximately 70 tippers, responsible for disposing of about 200 tonnes of garbage daily, sourced from 40,289 households.

As per the orders, the Phase-8 site will now exclusively handle bioremediation of the existing 2.5 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste. Mohali’s 14 resource management centres (RMC) accept only segregated waste, barring these trucks from dumping their loads there. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is also closely monitoring the issue.

Addressing the rally, Mohali sanitation union head Pawan Godiyal, said,“We respect the NGT. However, it is wrong to immediately shut the dumping ground without any alternative arrangements by the MC commissioner. Making Swachh Bharat Mission successful is the responsibility of all city dwellers.”

“It is the duty of every citizen to segregate wet and dry garbage, but despite not being separated by residents, the segregation is being done by sanitation workers every day,” he added.

Union leaders alleged that sectors like Aerocity, Ecocity, IT City etc, have been established by GMADA, but no RMC unit has been built there for waste management, owing to which common people and sanitation workers/garbage lifters were facing difficulties. This should be resolved immediately. The Phase-8 dumping ground should also be reopened immediately and new RMCs should be established by GMADA in new sectors, they said.

On Wednesday, the sanitation workers parked around 10 trucks filled with garbage at a vacant land near the PUDA building and raised anti-government slogans.