Sanitation services hit as workers go to Assam to vote

Lucknow: With over 200 sanitation workers employed by private agencies leaving for Assam to cast their votes in Assembly elections on April 9, door-to-door garbage collection in several parts of the city has been hit, affecting civic and sanitation services for an estimated 70,000 households.The shortage of at least one-third of sanitation staff appointed by the private agencies has led to irregular waste collection in a number of localities, with residents complaining of garbage piling up and delays in daily lifting of waste.The crisis is expected to continue for at least a week, as most of the workers are on leave until April 15. Civic officials said the situation is temporary and is expected to normalise soon. Most workers are likely to return next week.Sanitation services in the city are managed through private agencies Lucknow Swachchta Abhiyan (LSA) and Lions Enviro, which together cover all 110 wards under the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC).LSA is responsible for sanitation work in 77 wards across five zones, while Lions Enviro manages the remaining 33 wards in three zones.Officials said more than 150 workers from LSA's total workforce of around 600 and nearly 70 workers from Lions Enviro are currently on leave. The absence of these workers has affected primary garbage collection, road sweeping and drain cleaning in some areas.Abhay Ranjan, regional head of LSA, said the agency has been making alternative arrangements to minimise disruption."Garbage collection has been partially affected due to the shortage of workers. We are trying to engage local drivers and sanitation workers to maintain services as per requirement," he said.A Lions Enviro representative said workers from nearby districts, including Barabanki, were deployed to fill the gap."We are addressing complaints as they come. No major complaints have been formally recorded in our wards so far," the representative said.According to LMC sources, Lucknow generates nearly 1,800 tonnes of municipal waste every day, of which about 1,700 tonnes are transported daily to the Shivri waste processing plant. Officials said any disruption in door-to-door collection affects the overall waste management cycle.Residents, however, said the impact was visible in several neighbourhoods. Pallavi Sinha, a resident of Faizullaganj, said garbage collection vehicles were not coming regularly. "Waste has not been collected for the past few days, leaving residents with no option but to store garbage at home," she said.Another resident, Mamta, said the accumulation of waste was creating a foul smell in the area. "There is no clear information on when regular services will resume," she said.Residents who have private garbage collection workers in different areas also raised their concerns. They said, "We have private garbage collectors, and they also belonged to Assam and West Bengal, which is affecting the garbage collection."Chowk corporator Anurag Mishra said sanitation work in the old city requires additional manpower due to narrow lanes where large vehicles cannot operate. "Due to the shortage of workers, garbage collection and road sweeping have been affected in several pockets," he said.Ismailganj corporator Mukesh Chauhan said better contingency planning was needed as the election schedule was known in advance.Mayor Sushma Kharkwal said the civic body is monitoring the situation.