With the strike of sanitation workers of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) entering twelfth day on Sunday, serious garbage disposal and health crisis have arisen in trans-Yamuna region of the national Capital. The workers, despite assurance and repeated meeting with EDMC officials, were adamant on their demands, threatening to halt sanitation services for days to come if their dues were not paid to them. The sanitation employees are demanding regular payment of salaries, clearance of dues and regularisation of sanitation workers.

The president of MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union, Sanjay Gahlot, said the sanitation workers would not return to work until they get a permanent solution to the crisis.

Gahlot said that sanitation workers are forced to work in inhuman condition without any safety equipment and salary, he said. “Most of the workers are associated with the corporations on contracts basis and never paid on time by the civic bodies. Despite repeated meeting with officials and Mayor, no solution has been chalked out. We have not been paid for the last eight months,” Gehlot said.

“We have been requesting EDMC and the Delhi Government for a permanent solution to delays in payment of salaries to all the employees, including sanitation workers, but there is no result yet,” he said.

The workers claimed to intensify their protests by targeting offices and residences of councillors, MLAs and other stakeholders in coming days.

“We do not want people to suffer. Thousands of people are suffering due to our strike which has been forced on us due to lack of any permanent solution to the issue of payment of salaries and other dues in time hence the need of the hour is that all the stakeholders must arrive at a solution instead of indulging in politics over the issue,” he said.

EDMC mayor Bipin Bihari blamed the Delhi Government for the strike. “The corporation is not able to pay its employees and workers since it has not received any funds from the Delhi Government,” Bihari said.

Blaming the State Government, he said that the Corporation is not able to pay its employees and workers since it has not received any funds from the Delhi Government. He also informed about the order of Supreme Court in which Delhi Government has been directed to pay the due funds within 2 weeks.