Bhopal: Sanitation workers are on strike for the past two days over their demands, and heaps of garbage have accumulated across Bhopal, causing inconvenience to traders and customers, particularly in the city's prominent New Market area ahead of Diwali, ANI reported on Thursday (November 5). The lack of sanitation arrangements in one of Bhopal's busiest shopping destinations has left traders struggling to maintain cleanliness outside their shops.

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

The strike is not limited to the capital: sanitation workers across Madhya Pradesh joined the protest, which began on Wednesday after workers staged a demonstration in Bhopal on Tuesday to press their two key demands — regularisation of contractual employees, and a monthly salary of Rs 25,000 for workers employed under the 29-day arrangement. The workers warned that the strike will continue until their demands are fulfilled, WebIndia123 reported.

Source: WebIndia123 (ANI)

2 daysDuration of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation sanitation strike so far
Rs 25,000Monthly salary demanded for 29-day workers
Rs 10,900Current daily-wage salary cited by a striking worker
10 yearsTime workers say they have waited for promised regularisation

A sanitation worker who drives a garbage collection vehicle for the Bhopal Municipal Corporation said the entire sanitation workforce of the Corporation had been on strike for two days with nobody paying attention to their concerns. Employees who were promised regularisation after two years have been waiting for the past 10 years, he said, adding that daily-wage workers receive a salary of Rs 10,900, which is insufficient to raise a family, and demanding regularisation or a salary increase to Rs 25,000, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

Another worker said the strikers also want proper medical facilities and leave, saying they are made to work for 30 days without a single day off. Anil Sarwan, Bhopal district president of the Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Congress, said the work will remain completely suspended until the demands are fulfilled, and that if the government does not accept them, the strike will continue in the coming days.

Source: WebIndia123 (ANI)

Traders said New Market is usually cleaned and washed every night, but no sanitation worker had turned up since the strike began, leaving the market dirty at the height of the festive shopping season. Workers have warned the indefinite strike may continue even through Diwali if their demands are not met, TownPost reported.

Source: TownPost