East corporation workers lift siege, 15,000 employees back on duty

NEW DELHI: With a majority of safai karamcharis resuming work, the sanitation situation across east Delhi improved on Wednesday. Commissioner Mohanjeet Singh said that since Tuesday night, the corporation had removed 1,800 MT of garbage and the situation would be back to normal by Friday.
He said that the protesting workers lifted the siege from the Refuse Removal Depot and allowed movement of garbage-carrying trucks.“In the past five days, thousand of tonnes of waste have been accumulated. We were able to lift 1,800 MT after the unions decided to call off the strike on Wednesday. The cleaning operation has been intensified and by Friday, the situation will be back to normal,” added Singh.
Ajit Tanak, a member of Rashtriya Safai Majdoor Congress, said that the commissioner had given them in writing that their demands would be fulfilled as the corporation was in talks with the government. He said 15 unions comprising around 15,000 safai karamcharis had resumed work.
“The commissioner has assured us that the corporation will do everything to ensure our salaries are released on time and requested us to join work in the public interest,” said Tanak.
However, private trucks continued to lift garbage in some areas because corporation workers did not show up. “A few unions are still on strike. There are about 645 karamcharis in this ward of Geeta Colony who have refused to join work. All the garbage in this area has been lifted by private trucks,” said Naresh Kumar, a private operator.
In Krishna Nagar, a major street littered with waste was left untouched. Gulshan Kumar, a shop owner in Krishna Nagar, said, “This place is always full of garbage. It’s difficult to sit in my shop due to the stink.”
Shop owners in Vishwas Nagar have come up with a solution to fight the problem. “I have been witnessing this crisis for long. Yesterday, a truck came and lifted some portions of this. There is still some left. The stench is intolerable,” said Manoj Kumar Yadav, who runs a dry clean shop.
People said the situation was better on Wednesday as more trucks were deployed to clear the mess. “The present situation is better. Last night, a few trucks came to pick up the garbage. They took away half of it,” said Satish Tiwari, another shop owner in Vishwas Nagar.
However, a few unions refused to budge. Sanjay Gehlot, president of Swachhta Karamchari Union, said they would continue their agitation unless a permanent solution was offered to them.
“We will continue our agitation until our demands are met. The corporation has released our salaries till December but it doesn’t have funds for next month,” added Gehlot.