A strike by sanitation workers has left mounds of garbage lying unattended in many parts of North and East Delhi
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will today meet the city's sanitation workers who have been on a strike for the last 10 days over non-payment of salaries. Senior civic body officials will also attend the meeting which will be held at the Ramlila grounds this evening.
Many sanitation workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) protested at Mr Kejriwal's residence this morning. Some workers littered garbage in Mayur Vihar and Patparganj areas of east Delhi to express their anger. This has led to mounds of garbage being piled up in parts of the city.
"Before elections Kejriwal had said that he would take responsibility for people's concerns and now you see this garbage. The situation will not improve unless his government takes concrete steps, but it has failed to do so far," a local resident of East Delhi alleged.
Last week, sanitation workers affiliated to different unions from the three civic bodies, North, East and South, municipal corporations met Mr Kejriwal, and deputy chief minister, Manish Sisodia, and raised the issue of not having received their salaries for the last two months.
"I met the concerned officials and told them that this has to be done. Your problems of pending salaries are being sorted out. We will give you much more than what you got last year from the government," Mr Kejriwal had said.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister claimed that salaries of workers are pending due to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the centre not releasing Rs 600 crore meant for MCD, the largest civic body in Delhi.
The three civic bodies of North, East and South municipal corporations in the national capital are governed by the BJP, which heads the NDA government.
A senior corporation official told Press Trust of India (PTI), "The city government is still under Kejriwal, so he must take some initiative. We are expecting some announcements from the Delhi government today in this regard."