Bringing relief to residents in localities swamped with garbage, the sanitation workers of East Delhi Municipal Corporation on Friday called off their strike on a day when Delhi Lt Governor cleared the release of Rs 493 crore for the civic bodies.
Sanitation workers of EDMC had stayed off duty for the last 10 days over non-payment of salaries and the strike saw garbage piling up on the roadsides in many east Delhi localities.
Of the funds cleared by the Lt Governor, Rs 326 crore is to be released to NDMC while the remaining amount is for EDMC.
However, North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta said that the amount of Rs 326 crore was not enough to clear the salaries of its employees up to May, 2015.
Gupta along with South Delhi Mayor Subhash Arya and leader of the House in EDMC, Ram Narayan Dubey, today met Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on the issue.
"Rs 600 crore is immediately required for paying salaries and disbursing pensions," Gupta said.
He also demanded that, besides the Rs 600 crore, the global share of Rs 300 crore for the quarter, out of Rs 1,200 crore annually, be also released for sustaining the civic services.
The ten-day long strike of East Delhi Municipal Corporation sanitation workers have reduced several areas of the locality into a complete mess with residents complaining of overpowering stench, resulting in a spike in the sales of face masks.
Several areas of the locality were seen filled with piles of debris, covering the entire roads at many places including Patparganj and Laxmi Nagar.
However, the medical shop owners have a different tale to share. "I have sold 250 to 300 masks in last seven days whereas earlier we hardly used to sell 10 to 15 masks," said Rajesh, owner of a medical dispensary in Vikas Marg in Laxmi Nagar area.
Streets littered with garbage also proved dangerous for bikers as five accidents involving motorbikes were reported in last two weeks in Manglam chowk area of Patparganj.
"We are witnessing two-wheeler accidents here on a daily basis, it is difficult for the riders to balance while crossing such narrow strips," a fruit vendor said.
