City gets a clean breather as civic workers' strike ends

City gets a clean breather as civic workers' strike ends

Mangaluru: As the civic workers of the private company handling solid waste management for Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) resorted to a strike again following non-payment of bills, garbage has piled up in City for the last two days turning the streets into hell on earth.

Though the severity of the problem could not be felt much on Tuesday, the situation worsened on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, MCC officials held talks with Antony Waste Handling Cell Private Limited (AWHCPL) and as a result, garbage collection resumed by Wednesday afternoon.

The Mangaluru City generates 300 to 320 tonnes of waste on average everyday and Antony Waste Handling Cell Private Ltd., has been entrusted with the responsibility of solid waste management in the City for the last two years.

This is not the first time civic workers are striking work. Barely three months ago, civic workers had struck work for the very same reason and have done so, too frequently in the last two years.

According to civic workers, about 650 of them and 130 drivers work for the solid waste management company in Mangaluru and they have alleged that they have not been paid wages for the last two months.

On the other hand, according to MCC officials, the City Corporation is yet to pay about Rs 4.5 crore to AWHCPL for the months of September and October, out of which Rs 1.75 has been credited to the bank and promised to pay another Rs 50 lakh in a day.

"Despite the assurance, the civic workers are not ready to resume work," said an official.

However, following the discussion by Mayor Kavitha Sanil and MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer with the officials of AWHCPL, the civic workers have resumed work on Wednesday afternoon, clarified Nazeer.

While garbage in houses and apartments piled up, the garbage in the public bins spilled over on to the road in many places with stray dogs adding to the problem.

DH News Service.