No respite from garbage stink in Patna

PATNA: The residents of most areas in the city continued to suffer from piling garbage and stinks on the roads as the indefinite strike called by the sanitation workers of all urban local bodies (ULBs), including Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), continued for the fourth day on Tuesday.
The protesters have been demanding regularization of services of daily wage workers, equal pay for equal work, appointments on compassionate grounds and no outsourcing among others.
The striking associations -- Bihar Local Bodies Samyukt Sangarsh Morcha and Bihar Rajya Sthai Nikay Karmchari Mahasang - claimed that 40,000 contractual and daily wage workers are on strike across the state since Saturday, paralysing door-to-door garbage collection, picking of trash from roadside and sweeping of roads in towns and cities.
Chandra Prakash Singh, who is leading the indefinite strike, said they will not call it off until the state government fulfilled their demands. "We have submitted the 11-point charter of demands, but the state government is not paying any heed. We will continue with the dharna and not resume work," he said.
But the residents are facing problems in disposing of their daily household garbage as the regular sanitation workers are not picking the garbage from households. Anita Singh, a resident of Arya Kumar Road, said the sanitation workers come at odd hours to collect the garbage. "On Sunday, they announced that the garbage pick-up van will come in the area around 2.30am and the residents should dump the garbage on their own. On Monday, they came around 1am. How can anyone dispose of their garbage at such odd hours," she complained.
Saurav Kumar, a resident of Digha, tweeted: "In Digha Railway Colony area, we are waiting since a week for the sanitation workers to collect the garbage. The civic body needs to do something for door-to-door garbage collection."
The PMC officials said in a statement that 414 vehicles were taken out in the city on Tuesday for door-to-door garbage collection and cleaning of main roads. "Cleanliness work is going on mainly with the help of outsourced workers and machines with zonal teams in two shifts," it said.
But many residents claimed that the vehicles were only passing through the roads without lifting garbage, except in some VIP areas.