Visakhapatnam's Garbage Crisis Ends as Municipal Workers Resume Duties

Visakhapatnam: The city heaved a sigh of relief as municipal workers ended their 16-day strike and reported back to work.

The strike had led to a citywide garbage crisis, with bins overflowing and streets stinking from the accumulation of waste.

The strike, involving over 8,000 workers across AP, was to press demands for regularization of contract workers' services, a salary increase to '18,500 for Clean AP (CLAP) vehicle drivers, and an extension of welfare benefits to all municipal workers.

Minister Satyanarayana announced their salary increase to '21,000 per month and various other benefits for the workers. Minister declared that wages would be paid for the strike period, and each worker would receive '1,000 as festival allowance to purchase clothes for Pongal.

Naresh Kumar, chief medical officer of GVMC, stated that 2,930 workers out of the total 5,339 resumed their field duty. Some 1,584 bins were cleared, lifting a staggering 1303.6 tonnes of waste.

A functionary of Vinayaka Plaza expressed relief as the municipal van cleared the accumulated garbage in the gated community. “Every year, we celebrate Lohri/Bhogi in the community. If the garbage hadn't been lifted today, there would have been immense pressure on the celebrations.”

The resident highlighted the importance of cleanliness, especially during festive celebrations, expressing gratitude that the garbage was cleared just in time for their community festivities