Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is now in a distress after sanitation workers undertook an indefinite strike on Friday and was carrying on for the fourth day. The strike has halted door-to-door garbage collection in all 85 wards of the city, resulting in piles of garbage in residential slums, markets and major intersections throughout the city.
The situation is quite critical this time following Diwali, but no solution has been worked out so far between the workers and the government/civic bodies.
Garbage Piles Up Across the City
The protest picked up on its fourth day, with news of sanitation workers huling refuse on the roads of several cities in Bhopal.
Waste is also being strewn in the streets in videos that have been extensively shared on social media platforms.
Cleaning routines had been stalled for days, and residents and commuters are now suffering from increased inconvenience as a result of bad smells and polluted garbage bins.
If the situation continues like this, Bhopal is currently collecting more than 1,000 tonnes of waste each day, reported.
No Recession on the Wages Front
The strikers say they’ve been on the losing end after presenting their demands to authorities on numerous occasions, but not getting much.
Some of their important demands are introduction of Rs 25,000 as minimum monthly wages, elevation of all sanitation workers to government employee status and scrapping of the contract system in municipal corporations.
This strike in Bhopal includes regular sanitation and outsourced sanitation workers.
Heavy movements in Diwali markets have led to problems with garbage among the residents, shoppers and traders.
The Police are under increasing pressure to put the matter swiftly behind them as such a long time delay in the dispute may also create problems with public hygiene and sanitation in the city.