Gurgaon: Garbage and waste piles continue to accumulate at multiple spots across the city as municipal sanitation workers’ strike entered its 19th day on Monday, with employees protesting the Haryana govt’s alleged failure to implement their demands. The workers have now extended the strike for another two days, Aug 25 and 26, raising concerns over the worsening sanitation situation at a time when heavy rainfall is already putting pressure on the city’s drainage and civic infrastructure.The workers have accused the govt of reneging on commitments made during a May 13 agreement. Their demands include regularisation of sanitation and sewer workers, abolition of the contractual system in sanitation and sewerage work, recruitment against vacant posts and implementation of various wage and service benefits.The employees held a protest despite the rain on Monday, marching from the old MCG office towards Agrasen Chowk before proceeding to Session House Chowk, where they burnt effigies. They later marched through Mor Chowk and Aggarwal Dharamshala Chowk before returning to the old corporation office.“The accumulation of waste has become particularly problematic during the monsoon. Garbage lying on roadsides and in open areas gets scattered or washed into drains during heavy rain, adding to the burden on an already strained drainage system. The combination of waterlogging and unattended waste has also heightened concerns over sanitation and the risk of water- and vector-borne diseases,” said Pawan Yadav, RWA president of Sushant Lok 2 and 3.The workers’ unions, protesting under the banner of Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh, blamed the state govt for the deteriorating sanitation situation, alleging that the prolonged strike had severely disrupted cleaning operations across the city.“Garbage heaps have accumulated at several places and, in the rainy and hot weather, there is a risk of diseases spreading,” Basant Kumar, president of Municipal Employees Union, said, warning that govt was putting public health at risk by failing to resolve the dispute.The workers are also planning to take their campaign to the public on Tuesday. They will seek support from residents for the strike and submit a memorandum to Haryana Cabinet minister and Badshapur MLA Rao Narbir Singh at his residence in Civil Lines.“We have deployed the sanitation workers outsourced from the private agencies to fill in the gap. Their demands can only be addressed by the state govt since these are policy issues,” said an MCG official privy to the matter.
