Sanitation workers of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) called off their four-day strike late Friday evening after a meeting with Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav at latter’s residence. Representatives of employee unions said the Chief Minister had assured them that their pending demands would be addressed within a month through a committee that would include employee leaders. Workers subsequently returned to the field and cleaning operations resumed in several areas. Union leaders said their key demands included regularisation of daily-wage and other employees, abolition of the contract system and an increase in monthly wages from Rs 10,500 to Rs 25,000.

 

They also sought medical facilities and weekly holidays. Around 13,000 daily-wage employees work in various municipal departments, including more than 8,000 in the health department, according to the figures cited by employee representatives. Around 800 employees are also awaiting regularisation. The government is yet to announce a final decision on the demands. Earlier talks fail to break deadlock: Earlier on Friday, Minister of State Krishna Gaur held discussions with employee unions, but the meeting failed to end the strike. Mayor Malti Rai and Municipal Commissioner R P Ahirwar had also announced that workers would resume duties during a press conference at the civic body’s headquarters. However, union representatives later said the strike had not been called off.

 

The deadlock ended only after the evening meeting with the Chief Minister. Cleaning drive begins across city: After the strike was called off, municipal officials directed sanitation officers across all 21 zones to resume cleaning operations. Regular employees and other available resources were deployed in key areas, while a night-long drive was planned to clear roads, markets and residential colonies ahead of Diwali. Mayor Malti Rai said the city would be clean by Saturday morning. Strike leaves 2,550 tonnes of waste: The strike disrupted door-to-door garbage collection and street cleaning for four days. With Bhopal generating around 850 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 2,550 tonnes had accumulated over three days, according to the municipal estimate cited earlier. More than 400 garbage vehicles remained off the roads, affecting all 85 wards. New Market, MP Nagar, Link Road No. 1, Kolar Road, Shivaji Nagar and Tulsi Nagar were among the areas where waste piled up.