Nagpur: Garbage collection across nearly half of the city was affected for two days after contract workers engaged in door-to-door waste collection struck work over pending salaries and leave payments. The strike disrupted waste collection in five zones of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), leading to accumulation of garbage in several localities.While NMC claimed that the issue was resolved following discussions with the contractor and garbage collection will resume from Saturday, sanitation workers said the decision is yet to be taken as only partial relief has been provided.Friday’s rains aggravated the situation as piles of uncollected garbage got soaked, leading to foul smell and unhygienic conditions. Residents feared an increase in mosquito breeding and sanitation-related problems if the backlog was not cleared quickly.The agitating workers alleged that they did not receive payment for earned leave (EL) and casual leave (CL) for the past three months. They also claimed that their salary for the previous month was yet to be credited. As per the workers, a meeting with representatives of the contractor failed to yield any concrete solution, prompting them to launch the agitation on June 11.As per NMC officials, the contractor has agreed to release pending payments to employees, paving the way for restoration of services. The civic body said efforts would be made to clear the backlog generated during the two-day disruption.Workers said the delay in salary payments has made it difficult for them to manage daily expenses. They also alleged that despite repeated representations, neither the contractor company nor the civic administration took timely steps to resolve the issue.
