HYDERABAD: With the sanitation workers and municipal employees continuing their strike, garbage continues to pile up across the city, adding to the woes of denizens. Responding to the situation, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has started implementing a contingency action plan vigorously by employing private labourers on a large scale.
Though the State government held talks with the protesting Telangana Municipal Employees and Workers United Association on Saturday, the meeting ended up in an impasse with both parties sticking to their guns. Mounts of garbage have appeared in the lanes and by-lanes of the twin cities spreading stench and making life miserable to denizens for the sixth consecutive day.
GHMC on Saturday deployed garbage vehicles and hired private vehicles to clear a few thousand metric tonnes of garbage from the main roads. Labourers were hired in large numbers by the GHMC for clearing and transporting the garbage from bins to transfer stations and dumping yards at Jawahar Nagar in the outskirts of the city. GHMC has deployed nearly 830 vehicles for clearing garbage. Apart from private labourers, nearly 4,000 regular workers out of the 28,700, reported for duty on Saturday.
GHMC also deployed 400 vehicles with 4 labourers attached to 400 Swacch Units. Swachh Units are employing 20 labourers at `350 per per day to take up sanitation works. About 86 monsoon emergency teams with 400 workers were also utilised for garbage disposal.
TALKS FAIL : The State Government represented by Home Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy and GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar held talks with representatives of various municipal unions at the Secretariat on Saturday.
The minister urged protesting unions to call off their strike as KCR is keen to solve their demands at the earliest. The municipal union leaders, who struck to their stand told Express that the strike will continue till their demands are met. They said that strike in GHMC was a success as large number of contract and outsourcing workers did not report for duty on Saturday as well.
The municipal associations held a protest meeting at Indira Park on Saturday in which leaders of opposition parties including Congress, BJP, TDP, CPM and CPI participated. The opposition parties extended their support to the agitating union.
Metro Water Board Workers Call off Strike: The HMWS&SB Kamgar Union which was on a hunger strike since June 6 have called off their strike on Saturday after the Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao gave an assurance to implement the PRC recommendations after the Ramzan festival. Water supply and sewage problems will be solved soon, said sources.