cleanliness system in the city has come to a complete halt for past two days. As a result, garbage has not been collected from homes. Sanitation workers went on strike as the contractor has not paid wages to the workers for several months. To vent ire against deteriorating sanitation arrangements in the city, Congress corporators, on Thursday staged a massive protest outside the Mayor’s office. They collected garbage from households and overturned rickshaws filled with garbage in front of Mayor’s office at Jabalpur Municipal Corporation headquarters. As soon as news of the protest reached Omti Thana police station, police personnel arrived at the spot.

 

Agitated Congress corporators said the entire city is grappling with a severe crisis as door-to-door garbage collection came to a standstill due to non-payment of salaries. Residents are left with no option but to dispose of their waste outside their homes or in open drains. Piles of garbage has accumulated throughout the city, posing a health risk to public health. However, the Mayor seems unconcerned, showing no regard for essential needs of the public. Shouting slogans against the Mayor for his lackadaisical attitude towards cleanliness arrangements, Congress corporators said diseases are spreading rapidly alongside the mounting heaps of household waste. If immediate action is not taken by the Municipal Corporation, the city is bound to be engulfed in a garbage epidemic.

 

During the protest, Congress corporators demanded swift disbursement of pending wages to employees, emphasising that if the situation is not rectified within next 24 hours, massive demonstrations will be staged across the city. They said their demand for immediate action to initiate waste collection services is a pressing need that cannot be ignored any longer. Earlier, the corporators gathered at Rajiv Gandhi chow. They collected garbage from households and took it to JMC headquarters, where they overturned the rickshaws, brimming with garbage in front of Mayor’s office. Those present in the protest were Amrish Mishra, Shagufta Usmani Guddu Navi, Ayodhya Tiwari, Mukima Yakub Ansari, Pramod Patel, Sanjay Ahirwar, Tej Kumar Bhagat and others.