KMC sanitary workers go on indefinite strike

Kanpur: Around 1,000 sanitary workers of the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Friday went on an indefinite strike protesting against the involvement of private companies in garbage lifting and disposal work.

The striking employees demanded cancellation of the tender awarded to a South India-based company. Due to the strike, neither garbage was lifted nor roads and open areas were cleaned across several parts of the city. The employee leaders held meetings at the KMC headquarters and raised slogans against privatisation. They made it clear that the strike would continue till the tender was cancelled.

Ajit Baghmar, state general secretary of the UP Sanitary Employee Association, alleged that the KMC administration was trying to hand over sanitation workers to private companies.

The workers had been staging demonstrations at the KMC headquarters for the last two days. “We sought time from the municipal commissioner but have not yet been granted an appointment,” he said, adding that the employees were left with no option but to launch an indefinite strike.Meanwhile, corporator Naveen Pandit appealed to the sanitation workers to restore services