Municipal Corporation teams use machinery to clear accumulated garbage in Yamunanagar amid the sanitation workers’ strike.
Municipal Commissioner Mahabir Prasad says garbage will be cleared with police assistance if required, while door-to-door collection continues across all 22 wards
YAMUNANAGAR | PEN OF DEMOCRACY NEWS DESK
The Yamunanagar Municipal Corporation has intensified efforts to maintain sanitation and ensure regular garbage clearance across the city amid the ongoing strike by sanitation workers. Acting on the directions of Municipal Commissioner Mahabir Prasad, municipal teams have deployed JCB machines and loaders to clear accumulated garbage from different parts of the city, with police personnel present at several locations to maintain law and order and prevent any disruption in the clearance work.
Municipal authorities said that garbage heaps that had accumulated during the strike are being cleared continuously. Special sanitation teams have been deployed across all 22 wards of the Municipal Corporation to ensure that essential civic services remain operational and residents do not face prolonged inconvenience.
The sanitation operations are being supervised by Chief Sanitary Inspectors Harjeet Singh, Vinod Beniwal, Govind Sharma and Amit Kamboj, with teams working in different areas to remove garbage and improve cleanliness. The Municipal Corporation has made it clear that maintaining sanitation and preventing garbage accumulation in residential and commercial areas remains a priority during the strike.
Municipal Commissioner Mahabir Prasad said employees have the right to raise their demands and express their concerns through democratic means. However, he maintained that no employee or group should prevent other workers from performing their official duties or obstruct municipal vehicles engaged in garbage collection.
He said any attempt to stop sanitation workers from carrying out their duties, block garbage collection vehicles or create obstacles in essential civic services would be dealt with according to the law. The Municipal Corporation, he said, would not allow the city’s sanitation व्यवस्था to be adversely affected or ordinary residents to suffer because of disruptions in garbage collection.
According to the Municipal Commissioner, the government has already given in-principle approval to several demands related to sanitation and fire service employees. These include a monthly uniform allowance of ₹440, provisions related to equal pay for equal work and arrears for eligible employees, as well as benefits such as LTC, minimum wages, ESI and EPF.
He further said that in-principle approval has also been given for a monthly risk allowance of ₹2,000 for sanitation workers. The compensation assistance in certain cases has been proposed to increase from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, while insurance provisions of ₹50 lakh in the event of death due to an accident and ₹25 lakh in cases of permanent disability have also been approved in principle.
Eligible sanitation and fire service employees are also proposed to be covered under the PMJAY-Chirayu scheme, while provisions for medical and casual leave have also received positive consideration, according to the Municipal Commissioner.
Mahabir Prasad said the demand for regularisation of sanitation and fire service employees working on the municipal roll is currently undergoing legal examination by the government. He said the administration is taking a positive approach towards employees’ concerns, but essential public services cannot be allowed to come to a standstill.
“While employees have the right to raise their demands, the cleanliness of the city and the convenience of the general public cannot be compromised,” he said.
The Municipal Corporation has been using machinery to continue garbage lifting operations during the strike. However, officials said that in some areas, workers participating in the protest had allegedly attempted to prevent garbage collection operations from continuing. In such situations, the Municipal Corporation has decided to seek police assistance to ensure that sanitation teams and vehicles can carry out their work without obstruction.
The Commissioner said police personnel would be deployed wherever necessary to maintain order and facilitate garbage clearance. The administration has adopted the measure to ensure that waste does not continue to accumulate at sensitive locations, which could create inconvenience for residents and potentially affect public hygiene.
Despite the ongoing strike, door-to-door garbage collection is continuing without interruption, according to the Municipal Corporation. Residents have been urged to cooperate with sanitation teams and hand over household waste directly to the garbage collection vehicles visiting their neighbourhoods.
The Municipal Corporation has appealed to citizens not to throw garbage in open spaces, on roadsides or at unauthorised dumping points. Officials said indiscriminate dumping contributes significantly to the formation of garbage heaps and makes the city more difficult to keep clean during periods of disruption.
Residents have been advised to use the door-to-door garbage collection service regularly and avoid depositing waste at open locations. Municipal officials said that if household waste is handed over directly to collection vehicles, garbage heaps can be prevented from forming in public areas.
With sanitation teams working across all 22 wards, the Municipal Corporation is continuing its efforts to clear existing waste and maintain essential garbage collection services. The administration has reiterated that it will take all necessary steps, including the use of machinery and police support, to ensure that the city’s sanitation system continues to function during the workers’ strike.
The Municipal Commissioner also appealed to all concerned parties to maintain peace and cooperate in ensuring that essential civic services remain uninterrupted. He said Yamunanagar’s residents should not be made to suffer because of any dispute, and the Municipal Corporation would continue working to keep the city clean and ensure regular waste collection.
The Municipal Corporation has appealed to citizens not to throw garbage in open spaces, on roadsides or at unauthorised dumping points. Officials said indiscriminate dumping contributes significantly to the formation of garbage heaps and makes the city more difficult to keep clean during periods of disruption.
