Piled-up garbage raises a stink in Vijayawada as outsourced workers continue their stir

The citizens have become the unintended victims of the logjam between the Andhra Pradesh government and protesting outsourced municipal workers as the complaints related to stink emanating from piled-up garbage, dog and mosquito menace pouring in.

The citizens have become the unintended victims of the logjam between the Andhra Pradesh government and protesting outsourced municipal workers as the complaints related to stink emanating from piled-up garbage, dog and mosquito menace pouring in.

With the State government not agreeing to the main demands of the workers, the latter on January 6 (Saturday) announced that their Statewide indefinite strike seeking a fair deal would continue.

Now, the paucity of the workforce in the city has burdened the 600 permanent workers employed with the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), who have been struggling to keep the city clean.

The citizens are disposing of the garbage in the bins arranged on the roads. The piled-up garbage at these places are attracting dogs, causing concern among the people.

VMC Veterinary Assistant Surgeon A. Ravichand said that they had been receiving many complaints of canine menace. “We are administering anti-rabies vaccines to dogs. In 2023, out of 25,000 stray dogs in the city, 10,000 were vaccinated. We have earlier asked the dog catchers to catch the ferocious canines, but not much could be done since the dog catchers are also on a strike now,” he said.

A person who sells evening snacks near the ISKCON temple in the city complained that the number of customers coming to his stall had decreased as the stall was right opposite an overflowing garbage bin. “The stench becomes unbearable in the evenings,” he said.

Because the drains are not being cleaned regularly, the mosquito menace has also been on the rise. “It takes two days to clean drains in an area. While we are at it, we are also carrying out fogging operations in the city,” said VMC biologist Ch. Surya Kumar.