The societies of East Delhi have been left exasperated by the call for indefinite strike by EDMC sanitation workers on January 6.
More than 20,000 sanitation employees went on strike demanding three months’ pending salary, along with arrears. They also want to be taken in on regular payroll.
They staged protests outside the EDMC office and before the office of Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister of Delhi.
Residents this time are not angry with the staff that went on strike, but rather with EDMC. Many had assumed that situation would look up, owing to impending municipal elections in March-April. But unfortunately, the problem continues to persist.
BS Vohra, president of the RWA federation of East Delhi, said, “This is sad! Every three months the sanitation workers go on strike. They have not been paid their dues, so their protest is legitimate.”
He added, “The situation has gone from bad to worse. The garbage collectors have refused to collect waste from households. The BJP-ruled municipal corporation and the AAP government must come up with a solution. This is no time for a blame game!”
MM Khatri, secretary of federation group housing societies in IP Extension, agreed. He said, “All the dhalaos [garbage receptacles] in residential colonies are overflowing. The corporation needs to resolve the situation as soon as possible.”
