Ludhiana: Normally crowded and noisy, MC zonal offices went quiet on Thursday as employees supported the statewide strike called by govt employees’ unions.Public dealing was suspended for the most part in all four MC zones. Residents who visited the offices for services such as birth and death certificates, payment of property tax and other official formalities found counters unattended and were unable to complete their work.Leaders of the Municipal Employees Sangharsh Committee said participation in the strike was significant across MC offices. They maintained that employees had repeatedly raised issues but had not received a satisfactory response from the govt.Apart from OPS and pending financial benefits, employees also demanded regular recruitment against vacant posts in govt departments. They said staff shortages were affecting the functioning of departments and increasing the workload on existing employees.The strike caused inconvenience to residents who had visited offices expecting routine services. Many were forced to return without getting their work done.Manish Sharma, a visitor at an MC office, said the timing of the strike had added to public inconvenience. “The employees are on strike on Thursday, Raksha Bandhan is on Friday and then comes the weekend. Though Raksha Bandhan is not a public holiday, attendance usually remains low, so there is little point in coming before Monday,” he said. Expressing sympathy for employees’ concerns, Sharma said public services should not suffer because of protests. “Employees may have genuine issues, but residents should not have to bear the consequences,” he added.With public dealing affected across the city, normal civic services are expected to resume only after employees return to work and office attendance stabilises in the coming days.
