Bareilly sanitation workers step up stir, dump garbage, halt waste collection

Bareilly: Sanitation services in the city crumbled on Wednesday as outsourced sanitation workers intensified their agitation, halting door-to-door waste collection and dumping garbage heaps onto major roads and intersections, including Budaun Road, Chaupula, Shyamganj, Katra Chand Khan and Satellite Chowraha.The protesters abandoned their garbage collection vehicles at Bakarganj before marching through the city. Led by Ashish Kumar, the district president of the Local Body Sanitation Employees Union, the striking workers declared an indefinite boycott until their two core demands were fulfilled: First, the immediate implementation of government-mandated wages through outsourcing agencies by the municipal corporation.

Second, withdrawal of a police case filed against Kumar and five other union members.The FIR stems from an incident on Monday at the city health officer's office. Workers who had gathered to submit a memorandum allegedly threw bangles at an official. Following a complaint, a case was lodged against six sanitation workers under various charges, including obstructing a public servant from discharging official duties.

As garbage piled up across the city, municipal commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Maurya called an emergency meeting with the additional municipal commissioner, city health officer and deputy city health officer to defuse the crisis.Maurya later said, "Their grievances have been addressed, and sanitation work is expected to return to normal within a day or two."Despite the administration's assurances, union leaders maintain that the strike will stand until visible action is taken on their demands.