Waste piles up in Chandigarh as MC sanitation workers join stir

Waste collectors have been protesting the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC)’s decision to take over their work.

Adding to the miseries of Chandigarh residents, the safai karmachari (sanitation workers) union of the municipal corporation on Sunday extended support to private garbage collectors, who have halted the lifting of waste for the past four days. The sanitation workers have announced a protest on Tuesday.

Unable to break the deadlock, the MC has decided to “deploy its own resources” to collect garbage from the city from Monday. (HT Photo)

Waste collectors have been protesting the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC)’s decision to take over their work. Even as the MC General House on Friday decided to provide jobs on contract to the 1,447 registered waste collectors, they have called it “unacceptable” while claiming that at last 5,000 people are engaged in the work.

Their representatives even failed to turn up for talks with the municipal commissioner on Saturday.

Meanwhile, garbage piling up in various localities has been raising a stink. At some places, garbage has not been lifted from the sehaj safai kendras and even the streets. The city generates 540 tonnes of waste daily.

Unable to break the deadlock, the MC has decided to “deploy its own resources” to collect garbage from the city from Monday.

After garbage collectors didn’t attend the meeting on Saturday, MC commissioner KK Yadav had said that the civic body will not allow the city to stink and will invoke “Plan B”, wherein tractor-trailers will be visiting various localities to lift the garbage.

‘Will stop vehicles at processing plant’

However, the MC’s problems are set to increase with sanitation workers joining the protest.

Safai karamchari union president Krishan Kumar Chadha said: “We have decided to support independent garbage collectors. We will be holding a massive protest on Tuesday and will not clean the city.”

Chadha said the union will not even allow MC vehicles to enter the garbage processing plant at Dadumajra on Tuesday.

“We will not budge till the demands of garbage collectors are met,” he said.

Earlier, two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors — Rajesh Kalia and Bharat Singh — chaired the meeting of garbage collectors at the medical officer, health, office in Sector 17, where sanitation workers and other associations declared their support to the protesters.

SK Khosla, general secretary, welfare association, MIG houses, Sector 40, said: “It is unfortunate that the MC is not serious about the issue and seems to be waiting for an epidemic to break out in the city.”

Devinder Singh Babla, Congress councillor and leader of opposition in the House, too slammed the MC for failing to resolve the matter.