The compactor system, which was installed by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation ostensibly to resolve the issue of open waste accumulation, has proven to be a complete failure. In protest against this situation, sanitation workers staged a sit-in demonstration at Pratap Chowk in Ludhiana, effectively blocking traffic.
Providing details regarding the matter, Union Leader Vipin Kalyan stated that sanitation workers engaged in door-to-door waste collection are being prevented from depositing waste into the compactors and are being subjected to harassment. For the entire city’s 95 wards, only 32 compactors have been installed. Each compactor unit is equipped with only a single machine. Consequently, whenever a machine leaves to transport waste to the dumping site, the sanitation workers are left waiting for extended periods with their waste-laden handcarts.
The sanitation workers’ union has alleged that the Municipal Corporation is attempting to outsource the door-to-door waste collection operations to a private company. As a result, the employees currently engaged in door-to-door collection are being harassed. The workers raised slogans against the Mayor during the protest. They have issued a warning stating that if their grievances are not resolved, or if the door-to-door waste collection contract is indeed awarded to a private entity, they will block traffic at Bharat Nagar Chowk in Ludhiana and will also stage demonstrations outside the residences of the Mayor and the Commissioner in the coming days.
