Indore (Madhya Pradesh): With garbage piling up across several parts of Indore as the sanitation workers’ strike entered its third day on Wednesday, the city’s waste management crisis deepened and the issue took a political turn.
The workers, on strike since October 5, are demanding regularisation, equal pay, an end to the contractual system and compassionate appointments on medical grounds, among other service-related issues. Garbage collection and street sweeping have been disrupted in several areas.
The agitation also triggered a war of words between the BJP and Congress. Senior Congress leader and former minister Sajjan Singh Verma criticised the mayor, municipal commissioner and collector, saying sanitation workers had helped Indore earn its clean-city reputation but their demands were being ignored. He urged the administration to hold talks and resolve the dispute.
Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav said workers had the right to raise legitimate demands but alleged that some people were deliberately dumping garbage on roads to damage Indore’s image.
He said genuine demands would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities and action was being taken against those allegedly encouraging such activities.
Tensions rose further when protesting sanitation workers reached a BJP programme in Vijay Nagar to press their demands, leading to a heated exchange with a party leader who allegedly made a derogatory remark.
Earlier, Congress leaders staged a protest over the sanitation crisis, placing posters near garbage heaps and demanding an early resolution.
The prolonged strike has increased pressure on the civic administration to restore sanitation services and address the workers’ demands.
