Rajahmundry: As the strike by municipal contract workers demanding the scrapping of GO No. 279 to ensure job security continues, huge mounds of garbage have accumulated on public roads and clogged drains causing concern to the people as they become vulnerable to health hazards in the city.
One can find garbage piled up on streets and at every possible place while drains remain clogged. Some of them are overflowing in some places. Local residents point out that even when the entire civic staff is involved in garbage lifting and clearance of drains on a regular basis, maintenance of sanitation is not up to the mark. Now, with a majority section of contract workers going on strike, the sanitation has been very badly hit.
With no door-to-door collection of garbage by sanitation workers, people are dumping their day's collection of garbage on public roads and drains. This has been resulting in stray dogs, pigs and cattle involving in fight for their share of food.
Sources maintain that the contract workers who are on strike remain adamant and intend to continue their stir while civic authorities are tring to find alternate ways to overcome the problem and ensure proper maintenance of sanitation.
Accordingly, municipal commissioner Sumit Kumar Gandhi issued directions to the officers to ensure that the permanent workers attend to the work promptly and clear garbage from public places and drains and ensure that the garbage bins are cleared as usual.
He directed the officials to keep close tab on the functioning of sanitation workers between 6.00 am and 10.00 am and again from 2.30 pm to 5.00 pm in a day so that sanitation could be maintained properly. He spoke to the concerned officials from all 50 divisions in the city and gave necessary instructions on maintenance of sanitation.
The municipal commissioner made a fervent appeal to residents not to dump garbage in public places and drains and cooperate with the civic sanitation staff in lifting the garbage and ensure proper maintenance of sanitation.
