Patna: The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has ordered a series of emergency measures to maintain sanitation services across the city amid the ongoing strike by sanitation workers, including deploying additional manpower, launching special night-time cleaning drives and initiating legal action against those accused of disrupting civic operations.
The directives were issued during a high-level meeting chaired by Municipal Commissioner Yashpal Meena on Friday. Executive officers from all municipal zones, sanitation inspectors, supervisors, representatives of outsourcing agencies and other officials attended the meeting to review the impact of the strike and formulate a response.
Additional Teams To Support Sanitation Workers
Officials informed the meeting that sanitation workers in several zones were facing pressure and intimidation from people supporting the strike, discouraging them from reporting for duty or carrying out their work.
The Municipal Commissioner directed sanitation inspectors to form support teams of 15 to 20 personnel for each ward and deploy them alongside sanitation workers to ensure uninterrupted waste collection. Officials were also instructed to identify those allegedly obstructing operations and lodge FIRs against them.
Night-Time Cleaning Drive With Police Protection
PMC has ordered a special sanitation drive during the night under the supervision of senior officials assigned to different zones.
To facilitate the operation, the district administration has deployed adequate police personnel in every zone to provide security and ensure the cleaning drive proceeds without disruption.
Outsourcing Agencies Face Action
The Municipal Commissioner instructed outsourcing agencies to provide the full complement of sanitation workers required under their contracts.
He warned that agencies failing to meet contractual obligations would face action under the terms of their agreements. Workers who report for duty but fail to perform assigned tasks will also be subject to disciplinary action.
Attendance Monitoring To Be Tightened
Sanitation inspectors and supervisors have been directed to ensure that all permanent, daily-wage and outsourced sanitation workers record both biometric and manual attendance.
Attendance records will be reviewed regularly, and action will be taken against personnel found absent without authorisation.
Legal Action Against Obstruction
The Corporation also decided that FIRs would be lodged against anyone found obstructing sanitation work, interfering with official duties, or threatening or intimidating sanitation workers while they perform their responsibilities.
Appeal To Workers
PMC said it had already accepted all demands raised by the sanitation workers’ union that fall within the Corporation’s jurisdiction, while other legitimate demands had been forwarded to the appropriate authorities for consideration.
Appealing to striking workers to resume duty, Meena urged them to place the interests of the city and its residents first so that sanitation services could continue uninterrupted while outstanding issues are resolved through dialogue.
According to the Corporation, its sanitation workforce comprises 647 permanent sanitation workers, 3,816 daily-wage workers and 4,822 personnel engaged through outsourcing agencies. Officials said the available workforce and resources would be utilised to maintain normal sanitation services across the capital.
