(Image source from: Unpaid Sweepers brought traffic to halt in East Delhi})
The much outraged sanitation staff of New Delhi took the streets of east Delhi to express their angst. Sweepers of East Corporation, who has not been paid since January finally lost their temper and dumped the garbage on all major roads in east Delhi and outside the Deputy Chief Minister’s house.
There is much ire against the Aam Aadmi Party. “Only when people touch the heat, they will understand the severity,” said Rajinder Mewati, President of Safai Karamchari Association.
The protesters also burned effigies of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and shouted slogans against him.
The drama effected many areas in New Delhi such as Trilokpuri, Preet Vihar, and Mayur Vihar along with some adjacent areas as well. The whole hindered the traffic very badly and caused many accidents.
Residents of Vikas Marg surprised as some 500 protestors came into the area all of a sudden and blocked the traffic over Vikas Marg.
From there, they marched towards Mandawali and blocked the national highway around 10.30am. Although police removed them within an hour, traffic continued to crawl on Patparganj Road, Vikas Marg, IP Extension Road, Mayur Vihar, Anand Vihar, Chaudhary Charan Singh Marg and NH-24 till much later.
Sanitation workers sieged two zonal offices of the corporation in Shahdara (north and south) and did not let officials enter. Police were called after garbage was piled up outside the offices. "On Saturday, we will not let trucks and loaders pick up garbage from dhalaos and the collection centre in Vivek Vihar," Mewati said.
Congress, which does not have a single seat in the state assembly now, supported their protest. However, BJP, which controls all three corporations, said the sweepers have not been paid as the civic bodies don't have money. "We don't have any funds. Not only sanitation workers, even officials have not been paid for months. But protesting in this manner is wrong and dumping garbage on streets is not the solution," said B B Tyagi, chairman of the standing committee in East Corporation.
Several associations of sanitation workers have declared they will strike work from March 31 to demand salary dues and regular jobs. Workers in north Delhi are also planning a protest. "To make our point before the corporations and the government, garbage will not be removed from the streets. North Corporation hasn't paid us for months," said Ashok Bagdi, president, Akhil Bhartiya Safai Mazdoor Congress.
East Corporation recently cleared salary dues up to January and is trying to generate internal revenue to pay salaries for February and March. "We have released around Rs 85 crore to pay the salaries up to January. As soon as we have money, we will clear other dues," said Amit Yadav, commissioner, East Corporation.
@TimesofIndia.com
- Manohar. M
