Most of the city’s garbage went uncollected consistently for the fifth day on Monday after the sanitation workers, engaged by Kivar Environ Pvt ltd, went on strike demanding payment of their ‘dues.’
The Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) is now continuing to struggle for maintaining cleanliness across the city. Preparations made by the RMC have proved ineffective as piles of garbage can be seen on almost every street of the city. With the prevailing chaotic sanitation system, the issue has provided a chance to the leaders of both the major political parties, the Congress and the BJP, to hurl blame on each other for the situation.
The Congress party’s corporators along with some Independent corporators staged a demonstration outside the RMC building on Monday while urging the officials concerned to improve the situation.Similarly, a group of BJP workers and volunteers led by RMC Speaker and Corporator, Sanjay Shrivastava launched a ‘cleanliness drive’ from outside the Mayor, Dr Kiranmayee Nayak’s residence on her allegedly failing to ensure cleanliness in the city.
The BJP workers claimed to have collected two tractor loads of garbage from outside the Mayor’s house. They also collected garbage from near Kalimata Temple, OCM Chowk and Nalghar Chowk.Notably, the city recently got rid of jaundice that claimed around three dozen lives. The epidemic had reportedly spread due to contaminated drinking water and poor garbage collection system.
This time, leaders from both the parties seemed desperate while taking credit of raising the issue first and gaining political mileage ahead of the civic body election, slated by the end of this year.They warned the officials concerned about possible threat of cholera due to garbage lying on city roads as the situation would only deteriorate during the monsoons.