Ludhiana: Rubbish is mounting on the streets of this city as informal waste collectors launched a series of protests on Sunday, dumping refuse onto main roads after being locked out of essential disposal sites.The New Valmiki Ekta Sangharsh Committee, representing the city’s informal collectors, staged a demonstration at Pratap Chowk following a breakdown in the city’s waste management chain. The crisis began when drivers for a private firm, responsible for transporting waste from secondary compactor sites to the main dump, refused to work due to the “deplorable” condition of access roads.Key points of the dispute include locked facilities, infrastructure shortage, and public health risk. Informal collectors arrived at compactor sites in Dugri, Pratap Chowk, and the local bus stand to find those locked, leaving them with nowhere to unload household waste. Waste collector union leaders highlight a severe lack of facilities, noting there are only 32 compactor sites serving the city’s 95 wards. Protesters warned the municipal corporation that halting household collection during the current warm weather would lead to rapidly decaying waste and a significant stench in residential areas.As tensions escalated, union leader Suresh Kumar said collectors were forced to dump waste on public roads as a last resort. “If we do not collect the garbage from the households, residents will suffer,” he said. “The weather has changed and garbage starts stinking. We need authorities to streamline this process for the welfare of the public.”The protest has gained political momentum, with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior member Jagbir Singh Sokhi joining the workers at Pratap Chowk. Sokhi targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that governs the state and the local civic body, claiming a proposed ₹1,400 crore tender for a private firm to take over door-to-door collection would disenfranchise thousands of informal workers.What’s Next?The opposition and the waste collector union have announced plans to submit a formal memorandum to the municipal commissioner and the mayor on April 15. SAD;s Jagbir Singh Sokhi warned the MC administration that if the demands for better infrastructure and job security are not met, the city should prepare for further, more intensive demonstrations. Local residents now face the dual threat of uncollected household bins and growing mounds of refuse at major city intersections.MSID:: 130206802 413 |
