Areas across east Delhi today bore the brunt of sanitation workers' strike as tonnes of uncollected raw waste and clogged drains hurtled it towards a civic mess, even as protesters dumped garbage in front of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's office.
The striking employees, demanding regular salaries and payment of arrears among others, also struck work at the headquarters of SDMC and NDMC at the Civic Centre here.
The leaders of the striking workers claimed that no staff was on duty although East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) authorities disputed it claiming that around 60 per cent of them were discharging their duty and collecting garbage.
"All the sanitation workers are on strike. We are not collecting any garbage but we are also not spilling garbage on the roads," said Rajendra Mewati, general secretary of United Front of MCD Employees.
EDMC Mayor Harshdeep Malhotra said that out of around 15,000 sanitation workers, nearly 60 per cent were discharging their duties "although they join the protests after work".
"22,00 tonnes of garbage were cleared from the 175 dhalaos in the civic area in the last 24 hours till 6 AM today," Malhotra said.
"This is false as the roads are not being swept and the drains are also not being cleaned. The truth is that garbage is not reaching the dhalaos at all. In fact, we dumped garbage in front Sisodia's office in Khichripur around 10 AM," Sanjay Gehlot, president of Swatantra Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukt Morcha, said.
Gehlot said that a similar demonstration has been lined up in front of Transport Minister Gopal Rai's Babarpur office in the morning tomorrow.
The workers also littered the streets with garbage in many parts of the city including Duragapuri Chowk, Mayur Vihar, Karol Bagh, Madangeer and Saket. However, areas under SDMC and NDMC were relatively less affected by the strike.
The areas under South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC),
that produces around 24 tonnes of garbage every day and has around 18,000 sanitation workers, were not affected by the strike, a senior official of SDMC said.
"Private firms have been engaged for garbage collection in three out of the four zones that SDMC is divided into. Generation of garbage is low in Nazafgarh zone where municipal corporation workers collect garbage," the official said.
The sanitation condition in north Delhi deteriorated as well as most of the 28,000 sanitation workers in the civic area joined the strike.
"The situation in North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) areas was no better than those in EDMC. Collection of garbage which is on average 2,800-3,200 tonnes per day has been hampered due to the strike," said a senior NDMC official.
