Contract sanitation workers’ strike raises a stink in Visakhapatnam

Over 3,500 contract workers strike in Visakhapatnam, disrupting sanitation services & causing littering. GVMC urges citizens to use dustbins.

Heaps of garbage were seen pilled up at many areas here on Wednesday, as over 3,500 contract outsourcing staff and around 650 Clean Andhra Pradesh (CLAP) staff of the GVMC launched strike demanding that the government resolve their long-pending problems.

Disruption in sanitation services was evident, as several colonies in One Town, MVP Colony, Akkayyapalem, Daba Gardens, Allipuram, China Waltair, Gajuwaka, Sheela Nagar and a few other areas were seen with uncleared drains and overflowing dustbins, especially of food wastes. In some areas, garbage collection was hit. In One Town area, many vendors, shopkeepers and grocery store owners were seen dumping garbage on the road. Several citizens have clicked pictures of the garbage on road and uploaded on the social media.

Additional Commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), V. Sanyasi Rao, said that there are over 1,000 permanent workers and, around 1,000 daily wage workers, supervisors and malaria staff. This apart, garbage truck drivers and sweepers have been on duty and are taking up sanitation drive. “We can manage up to some extent and ensure most of the areas are clean,” he said.

A senior officer from the GVMC said that on December 28, a meeting is likely to be conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Contract Workers Union with the Municipal Minister. He said that they are expecting a positive response from the government on their demands. “If not, the sanitation situation could turn worse. We hope that the meeting will yield positive results,” he added.

Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari in a release on Wednesday urged the citizens to ensure wastes are dumped only in dustbins, but not on roads. She said that dumping of wastes on roads may lead to mosquito and dog menace.

Meanwhile, the contract workers supported by the CITU staged protests at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue near the GVMC office on the second day of their strike.