Sanitation workers protest outside EDMC, garbage mounts

NEW DELHI: The strike called by the sanitation workers demanding payment of pending salaries of the last three months entered its eighth day on Thursday. The sanitation workers, who have gathered outside the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) here, said that they would continue with the protest until their demands are met with. “We haven’t got our salaries for the last three months. How will we survive? We are not able to feed our children,” said one of the protestors.

Early morning, thousands of agitated workers took out a protest march in Patparganj from where they gathered at the EDMC headquarters to draw attention to their demands. The protest march threw traffic out of gear in and around the area. Protests by sanitation workers in different parts of East Delhi also created chaos on the roads as they dumped garbage on the way. Roads in major localities such as Kanti Nagar, Jhilmil, Shahdara and Laxmi Nagar have turned into garbage dumps as over 2,000 metric tonne of waste accumulated in East Delhi over the week.

“We locked down headquarter of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and forced the official to cancel meeting of standing committee. The Delhi government released Rs 119 crore for education department but used to pay salaries to workers in haste in order to divert attention. The sanitation workers were paid salaries till September. They have not been given salaries for the past three months despite assurances by municipal corporation officials, forcing us to go on strike,” claimed Sanjay Gehlot, president of Delhi unit of MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union.

The protestors claimed to intensify to target offices and residences of Councillors, MLAS and other stakeholders more in coming days to raise their voice against injustice done with them. Earlier on Wednesday, the agitated staff dumped heaps of garbage at the office of Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and in other locations.

Meanwhile, leaders of three MCDS expressed their anguish over the claim of releasing more funds by the city government adding that the claim is totally false and untrue. “We demand immediate release of money as per the third Finance Commission and the recommendations of the fourth Finance Commission be implemented in true sense,” said Sanjeev Nayyar, Mayor of North MCD.