Patna stinks as sanitation workers continue strike

PATNA: The indefinite strike by the group-D employees, mainly sanitation workers, of all the urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state entered the sixth day on Sunday as the talks between the officials of the urban development and housing department (UDHD) and the representatives of the striking employees failed again.
People in the city have no other option but to deal with filthy, stinking surroundings and mosquitoes as door-to-door waste collection, fogging and other maintenance and repair works have come to a halt due to the strike.
Though some quantity of trash is being dumped at the Ramachak Bariya landfill site by outsourced workers of Patna Municipal Corporation, their manpower is inadequate to handle the amount of garbage the city generates per day.
According to sources, more than 6,000 tonnes of garbage have accumulated in different localities of the city, including posh areas like Boring Road, Bailey Road, Fraser Road, Patliputra, Exhibition Road, Gandhi Maidan and Ashok Rajpath. In Patna, around 1,200 to 1,400 tonnes of trash are generated per day.
Rajat Chaudhary, a resident of Lodipur, said even traffic movement has been affected in the area as most part of the road is covered with filth and garbage. “We apprehend spread of viral diseases in the locality. I had to hire a sanitation worker to dump the household garbage as the bins are overflowing,” he added.
Himani Singh, a resident of Ashiana Colony, said the longer the trash sits, the dirtier the streets get. “All the efforts of the civic body to keep the city clean would go in vain if the strike continues like this. The state government should take steps to persuade the agitating workers to return to work,” she said.
Over 400 sanitation workers protesting at the PMC’s headquarters at Maurya Lok Complex here were adamant on their 12-point charter of demands, including equal pay for equal work, regularisation of jobs, pension and compassionate jobs.
Chandra Prakash Singh, president of PMC Staff Union, said the UDHD was giving them verbal assurances only. “We need written assurance,” he added.
Pintu Kumar, a sanitation worker, said, “We do not like to make people’s lives miserable by protesting like this. However, we must raise our voice for our rights. This time, we are not throwing trash on the roads. It is just a peaceful protest.”