Sanitation workers in Mohali are on the brink of a strike after the closure of the Phase-8 Industrial Area dumping ground, a move mandated by a recent High Court order. The sanitation workers’ union staged a protest today by dumping garbage outside the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) office, highlighting the disruption caused by the closure.
The Punjab local bodies secretary directed the Mohali Municipal Corporation (MC) to cease operations at the dumping ground due to environmental concerns. This has left sanitation workers scrambling, as the 70 trucks collecting waste from over 40,000 households are now unable to dispose of approximately 200 tonnes of garbage daily.
The Phase-8 site will now solely focus on bioremediation of existing waste, leaving sanitation workers with no alternative disposal location. Furthermore, Mohali’s 14 resource management centres (RMCs) only accept segregated waste, further hindering the disposal process.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is closely watching the situation; something that has proved to be a major inconvenience to Mohali citizens. Pawan Godiyal, a union leader for the sanitation workers showed honor for NGT’s state yet questioned Municipal Corporation for not having better alternate plans.
“Making Swachh Bharat Mission successful is the responsibility of all city dwellers,” Godiyal said, emphasizing the importance of citizen participation in waste segregation. He added that sanitation workers are currently handling the burden of segregation despite residents not separating their waste properly.
The union also highlighted the lack of proper waste management infrastructure in newly developed sectors like Aerocity, Ecocity, and IT City. These areas, developed by GMADA, lack RMC units, leading to difficulties for both residents and sanitation workers.
The union’s demands include the immediate reopening of the Phase-8 dumping ground and the establishment of new RMCs in the newly developed sectors by GMADA.
On Wednesday, the sanitation workers had already expressed their frustration by parking garbage trucks at a vacant lot near the PUDA building and raising slogans against the government’s inaction.
The situation in Mohali threatens a complete halt to sanitation services if a solution is not found soon. The sanitation crisis is caused by unavailability of proper waste disposal system and to resolve this issue the authorities need to work together with the sanitation workers as well as the local residents to keep the environment clean.
