The deadlock between the safai karamcharis and civic bodies over the nonpayment of salaries seems to have no end to it. Once again the strike called by the sanitation workers has turned the city into a garbage dump.
The workers’ union, on Saturday, took out a yatra against the Delhi Government across various parts of the city and burnt effigies of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and threw tonnes of garbage on the streets as a mark of protest.
Earlier, the indefinite strike called in by around 25,000 sanitation workers for almost a week had yielded no results as the workers’ union received no reply either from the Corporations or the AAP Government.
The workers are demanding their three-month salary which the civic bodies have been unable to pay due to cash crunch. Areas like the NH-24 and localities like Samachar Apartment, Marginal Pushta Bund, Kashmeri Gate, Wazirabad road, Mayur Vihar -I, Mayur Vihar Extension and Patparganj, the constituency of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia have turned into a perfect garbage dump.
Similarly, garbage has not been lifted up in Old Delhi areas that caused much trouble to visitors and local traders. The sanitation staff of MCDs have stopped lifting garbage from roads and houses in trans-Yamuna areas as they have not been paid since February.
“The workers’ union have gone for an indefinite strike against the municipal corporation since the salaries of April and May have not been dispensed. How can safai karamcharis work if they don’t get their due salariesIJ It is impossible. The workers will not get back to work till the time they receive the payment of their salaries,” said Rajendra Mewati, Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Congress.
Also, Mewati said the officials have given upon the issue and instead passed the buck to the Delhi Government citing political interests behind not releasing the MCD’s grants. South Delhi Mayor Subhash Arya said the Delhi Government is trying to destroy functioning of corporations by not releasing grants.