Unidentified vehicle dumps garbage at Sector 12 crossing causing traffic congestion

Gurugram:An unidentified vehicle dumped piles of garbage at the Sector 12 crossing during the wee hours on Sunday, causing heavy congestion

Gurugram:An unidentified vehicle dumped piles of garbage at the Sector 12 crossing during the wee hours on Sunday, causing heavy congestion. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and police cleared the spot with the help of machinery, following which traffic movement ensued.

Gurugram, India-October 23: A road connecting sector-12 to Sheetla Mata mandir was blocked due to garbage as MCG employees are on strike since the last four days, in Gurugram, India, on Sunday, 23 October 2022. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)(Pic to go with Debashish Karmakar story)

According to municipal officials, 6,000 employees and contractual workers of the MCG are on strike till October 26 and have stopped collecting waste. This has resulted in the pile-up of garbage in different areas. MCG joint commissioner Naresh Kumar said that the department is facing challenges as only 1,000 contractual workers are cleaning and collecting garbage from across the city. “The staff is on strike and is not letting others pick up the garbage. They are also intentionally unloading garbage vehicles in markets, residential areas and roads, inconveniencing residents,” he said.

Kumar said the corporation has held multiple meetings with the staffers but has been unable to arrive at a resolution. The strike has been extended till October 26, due to which waste management during Diwali festival has become a massive challenge. “They are puncturing vehicles of Ecogreen Energy, the concessionaire engaged by the MCG for waste management and are also threatening their employees,” he added.

Corporation officials said that they will take stringent action against those found dumping garbage in MCG jurisdiction soon after Diwali is over.

Krishan Kumar, a shopkeeper in the Sadar area alleged that garbage was dumped in front of shops on Sunday morning despite repeatedly requesting sanitation workers not to do so. “The workers on strike are misbehaving with us and intentionally dumping the garbage. This is also impacting business during Diwali as the markets are becoming filthy,” he said.

Kumar said that the workers on strike are trying to pressure the state government and the corporation to meet their demands. The MCG will appeal to residents after Diwali to join them in initiatives to clean the neighbourhoods. “We do not want the striking workers to think that the city cannot manage without them. We have 1,000 contractual workers and will clean the areas using machinery,” he said.

The striking sanitation workers, contractually employed by a private agency appointed by the MCG, said that they will be on strike till Wednesday as their demands have not been met. “We are not getting any relief as we were hired by the agency and not the corporation,” a sanitation worker said.

MCG officers visited the areas under their jurisdiction on Sunday to assess all parameters set under the Swachh Bharat Mission and directed teams to improve cleanliness. The officers will also visit their respective areas to evaluate the present sanitation situation.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that police are scanning CCTV footage to identify the vehicle that dumped garbage at the Sector 12 crossing. “Strict ction will be taken against those found guilty,” he said.