Huge mounds of garbage strewn all over the national Capital by striking sanitation workers of the three municipal bodies left Delhi reeking on Thursday.
Demanding “immediate” release of funds for their salaries, the protesting workers didn’t spare any ward and dumped garbage all over the city, including in front of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s camp office in Patparganj.
The sanitation workers also burnt Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s effigies and carried out massive protests outside the SDMC, NMC headquarters at Minto Road.
Areas like Vinod Nagar, Patparganj, Shahdara, Narela, Geeta Colony, Durgapuri Chowk, Jyoti Nagar and laxmi Nagar in trans-Yamuna area were a mess and huge piles of garbage could be seen everywhere. Places like Jantar Mantar and all zonal offices of the three civic bodies faced a similar situation.
“It is difficult to even pass by these roads as they are stinking so much. We are scared we might catch some infection if the garbage is not removed soon,” said Bhawana, a resident of Patparganj.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal on Thursday demanded fresh elections to the BJP-ruled civic bodies saying they had failed to pay the employees.
“Managements of organisations that can’t pay salaries to their employees don’t have the right to continue,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader tweeted. He said the civic bodies should be dissolved and fresh elections held.
On their part, the civic bodies are alleging that the Delhi Government owes them Rs 3,800 crore collectively. Out of this, Rs 1,200 crore is owed to North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC), Rs 1,500 crore to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and Rs 1,100 crore to East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).
Reacting strongly to this, the Delhi Government claimed that it has already released funds to the municipal corporations for payment of salaries. According to the Government, it has disbursed Rs 892.92 crore to NMC, Rs 465.53 crore to EDMC and Rs 668 crore to SDMC.
Meanwhile, as the strike entered the second day on Thursday, a group of municipal sanitation workers also threatened to suspend work for an “indefinite” period if their demands were not met.
“It has been over three months since the workers have been paid. Despite repeated requests, our demands have gone unheard. Hence, we have staged a protest here. We will strike work for an indefinite period if our demands are not met soon,” Sanjay Gehlot, president of Mazdoor Vikas Samyukta Morcha said.
Claiming that employees of all three civic bodies were participating in the strike, Gehlot said that besides salaries, the employees were seeking payment of arrears, regularisation of contract-based employees and unification of the three corporations.
Workers attached to the EDMC had gone on strike making similar demands in October last year. But the strike was called off in the wake of a High Court order.
The sanitation workers are demanding timely payment of salaries in the first week of every month, release of arrears for those whose services were regularised in 2003 and 2004, regularization of contractual workers, issuance of medical cards and payment of child education allowance. While the demands have not been complied with, the sanitation workers are battling a grave financial crisis.