HYDERABAD: Unmindful of the rising stink and health risk in the city, Union Labour and Employment minister Bandaru Dattatreya has asked the State not to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against striking sanitation workers.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Maha Sampark Abhiyan in Ramnagar here on Sunday, the Union minister said: “Such measures are not appreciated in a democracy. Both sides should resolve the issue amicably through deliberations.”
However, he urged the workers to resume their duties at the earliest, and not to put public health in jeopardy. The Union minister said he already had deliberations with the State labour minister Nayani Narsimha Reddy to take stock of the crisis. The labour minister lamented that it was extremely saddening to see piles of garbage and overflowing drainage on the city roads at a time when both the Centre and State governments were working towards Swachh Bharath and Swachh Hyderabad respectively.
As part of the Maha Sampark Abhiyan, he held door-to-door campaign to meet those who had joined the BJP online, recently.
He heard out the grievances of the people, and encouraged them to enrol under the new social security schemes launched by the NDA government.