Stink in the air as workers strike in the towns of AP

Garbage piles were seen on a majority of streets of Guntur city. The posh areas of the city like Arundalpet, Brodipet, Laskhmipuram, SVN Colony, Brundavan Gardens and others which usually look clean, were filled with garbage.

Meanwhile, AP Municipal Workers Union city secretary K. Malyadri alleged that the state government did not agree to give minimum wages to municipal staff and was reluctant to resolve their issues. He warned that municipal staff will continue their strike till their demands were met and appealed to the public to cooperate with the striking staff.

Elsewhere, Guntur municipal corporation in-charge commissioner Ch. Anuradha conducted a meeting with various social service organisations and NGOs. She said that GMC planned to clear the garbage using the help of NGOs.

In Visakhapatnam, hundreds of workers and employees of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation staged a massive protest in front of the GVMC office, demanding implementation of PRC scales, 30 per cent house rent allowance and regularisation of jobs. Thousands of sanitation workers didn’t attend duties.

CITU leader R.K.S.V. Kumar alleged that the state government has been showing a vindictive attitude towards municipal workers, who have been keeping the city clean. GVMC commissioner Praveen Kumar said that they are taking steps with the skeletal staff on hand to clear the garbage piling up at various places in the city.

In Vijayawada, striking VMC staff staged a rally at the sub-collector’s office, raising slogans against the government’s failures. They said that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has failed to fulfil the promises made to the municipal workers during elections.