Swachh Hyderabad turns dump yard in a day

HYDERABAD: The city streets turned into one massive dump yard on Monday as the strike called by the municipal workers demanding higher wages took hold.What greeted citizens on Monday morning were heaps of garbage spilling on to the roads and an intolerable stench permeating the air, thanks to nearly 26,000 sanitation workers of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) staying put at home.
And the situation is unlikely to change any time soon, with the talks held between the government and the municipal unions failing.
“The government had asked us to call off our strike.When we demanded higher wages, it was not accepted.The main reason was the absence of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is currently out of town,“ said Vinay Kapoor, general secretary , Bhagyanagar Municipal Employees Union.
In a city which generates close to 6,000 metric tonnes of garbage every day , the absence of a definitive garbage clearing mechanism not only has immediate impact but also is likely to be the death knell for the Swachh Hyderabad campaign.
“Usually , garbage collectors visit the colonies in the morning. But today there was no one and a lot of garbage accumulated in front of the houses,“ said G Sarath Reddy , a resident of Nagole.Other areas that witnessed similar scenarios were Pad ma Rao Nagar, Begumpet, Ameerpet (especially around Dharam Karan Road), Rasoolpura, Jahnuma, Mehdipatnam and Tobacco Bazar, to name a few.
“There was garbage overflowing onto the streets.When we called the GHMC, there was no one to cater to our complaints. The existing garbage bins were so filled that the overflow eventually clogged our road,“ said Basith Ali Khan, a resident of Model Town Colony , Jahnuma.
Narrating a similar tale, I Rama Rao, a resident of Padma Rao Nagar, said: “There is a lot of construction activity around this area. But due to the strike, most of the construction waste and debris made its way onto the footpaths.“
The scenario across the state was no different.“There were close to 55,000 workers on strike across the state. Garbage cleaning, antimalarial operations and dog squads did not function,“ said Venkatesh, a member of All Indian Trade Union Congress (AITUC).
Employee unions also complained that the GHMC commissioner, who was given the strike notice two weeks in advance, failed to inform the government. “We had given the strike notice in advance, but the civic chief did not brief the government. He took us too lightly ,“ rued Vinay .
The demands of the workers include a hike in salary for contract employees from the existing Rs 8,500 to Rs 14,170 and for permanent employees from Rs 9,500 to Rs 17,380. Houses for municipal employees and issue of health cards are some other demands. “We also demand that the garbage lifting work not be outsourced to any private agency ,“ Vinay added.
Over 500 drainage complaints
Over 500 complaints related to sewage overflows and choked drains landed at the Metro Customer Care (MCC), a roundthe-clock call centre of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), on Day One of the strike.“Instructions were given to general managers to attend to complaints with out-sourcing workers. Today, we attended over 80% of complaints,“ HMWS&SB director-operations, G Rameshwar Rao told TOI. TNN
Times View
The government should resolve the crisis with earnest efforts as the accumulation of even a day's garbage in the city can put citizens at the risk of an epidemic. In view of such serious consequences, the authorities must try and break the deadlock soon before the situation worsens.