Patna: Amid the ongoing indefinite strike by sanitation workers that has disrupted garbage collection across the city, Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Tuesday said its empowered standing committee would meet on Wednesday to consider and recommend action on the workers’ three key demands, even as the civic body claimed sanitation services were gradually returning to normal.The assurance came during a meeting between mayor Sita Sahu, municipal commissioner Yashpal Meena and representatives of the Patna Municipal Corporation Joint Employees’ Union. The union delegation, led by president Chandraprakash Singh, urged the civic body to formally back the demands by passing resolutions through the empowered standing committee and the PMC council and forwarding them to the urban development and housing department.The mayor said the corporation supported the resolution of the workers’ demands but lacked the statutory powers to take a final decision. “The standing committee will deliberate on the issues to facilitate further action,” she said. Union representatives welcomed the move and said they would inform workers about the outcome of the talks, expressing hope for an early resolution.PMC claimed waste-clearance operations were gaining momentum despite the strike and continuous rainfall. The civic body said more than 165 sanitation workers and 108 vehicles were deployed across six circles for door-to-door waste collection. A fifth consecutive nightlong cleaning drive on Monday removed around 260 tonnes of garbage under the supervision of the municipal commissioner.The civic body said the highest quantity of waste, around 75 tonnes, was lifted from Patliputra circle, followed by 65 tonnes in New Capital circle. However, officials acknowledged resistance to collection vehicles in some areas, with services disrupted in parts of Kankarbagh on Tuesday morning due to protests. The strike has led to garbage accumulation and complaints from residents in several neighbourhoods since last week.According to the PMC, a fifth consecutive nightlong cleaning campaign was carried out on Monday under the supervision of municipal commissioner Yashpal Meena. The civic body said around 260 tonnes of waste were removed during the operation.A senior PMC official said the door-to-door vehicular waste collection is now gradually shifting towards interior localities as collection services improved. Previously, due to the dearth of sanitation workers and vehicle drivers, this provision was initially restricted to the major roads and commercial areas.Among the circles, the highest quantity of waste was lifted from Patliputra circle, where around 75 tonnes of garbage were removed from major roads, including Nehru Path, Ashok Rajpath and Gandhi Maidan. The New Capital circle accounted for around 65 tonnes, while Bankipur, Kankarbagh, Azimabad and Patna City circles reported lifting 46 tonnes, 45 tonnes, 17 tonnes and 15 tonnes, respectively.PMC said resistance to collection vehicles continued in some areas and door-to-door collection could not be carried out in Kankarbagh circle on Tuesday morning due to protests. Officials, however, maintained that route plans were being prepared daily for each circle and senior officers were monitoring the night drives in the field.The strike has disrupted waste collection across the city since last week, leading to garbage accumulation in several neighbourhoods and complaints of foul smell from residents.
