Fatehabad: Haryana minister Krishan Kumar Bedi on Monday warned striking sanitation workers of “strict action” if they obstruct the administration’s ongoing garbage-clearance drive, as the govt stepped up efforts to restore sanitation services amid a prolonged statewide strike.Speaking to mediapersons after a district public grievance committee meeting, Bedi said workers were free to continue their strike but should not interfere with clean-up operations. He said sanitation work was carried out in Fatehabad the previous night and efforts were underway to improve the situation.Bedi said he had asked the workers to wait for a meeting with CM Nayab Singh Saini, expected in the next two days. He said he, local bodies minister Vipul Goel and senior officials were working on their demands, but certain legal issues were delaying a decision.“If they directly confront the administration, we may have to take strict action,” Bedi said.The warning comes a day after confrontations between striking workers and authorities in several towns as municipal bodies brought in machinery and police to clear accumulated garbage. In Hisar, where workers have been on strike for 18 days, more than 3,600 tonnes of garbage has accumulated. Several workers were detained on Sunday after opposing a garbage-clearance operation at ITI Chowk, where a confrontation also broke out between women workers and police.In Charkhi Dadri, 11 workers, including the union president, were detained after opposing a similar clearance drive. Garbage had accumulated at several locations during the 17-day strike, with residents reportedly burning waste piles at some places. Clearance drives were also undertaken in Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh and Bhiwani.The workers are demanding regularisation of contractual employees, implementation of an agreement reached with the govt on May 13 and resolution of their 22-point charter. The strike has disrupted door-to-door garbage collection and waste removal in several towns.The grievance committee meeting in Fatehabad took up 13 cases..
