India’s capital city is reeling under garbage, and it seems the situation is only going to get worse. And all apparently because of a face-off between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the city’s municipal corporation.
On Thursday morning, the protesting workers from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) dumped garbage outside Deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s residence. They alleged they had not been paid dues and salaries for three months. The workers shouted slogans against the AAP government, and demanded immediate release of the funds.
On Wednesday, they had staged a massive demonstration outside CM Arvind Kejriwal’s house.
According to ANI, over 1.5 lakh MCD employees have threatened to go on an indefinite strike over the issue and have given the city till Friday to sort it out. They also said they would pile up garbage on the streets of their demands are not met.
“We will call off work for an indefinite period if our demands are not met,” Sanjay Gehlot, president of Mazdoor Vikas Samyukta Morcha, said.
Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal has simply washed off his hands off the crisis, putting the responsibility of the payments on the MCD, which is ruled by the BJP.
This is not the first time that MCD workers have brought the city on its knees. Workers attached to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) had gone on strike over similar demands in October last year, but it was called off after Delhi High Court directed the city government to release funds to the corporation.
(With Inputs from PTI)
(Feature Image Source: Twitter/Logical News)