The sanitation crisis across towns of Ropar district has deepened sharply as the strike by sanitation workers entered its 13th day on Tuesday, leading to mounting heaps of garbage, foul smell in residential areas and growing public health concerns.
With waste lying unattended in streets and markets, residents in several towns have started burning plastic and mixed solid waste in the open, triggering concerns over rising air pollution and respiratory illnesses.
The strike has affected municipal councils in Ropar, Nangal, Morinda, Chamkaur Sahib, Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib, where routine garbage collection has almost collapsed. Residents complained that waste has accumulated near markets, residential colonies, bus stands and roadside dumping points.
With garbage remaining uncollected for nearly two weeks, many residents have resorted to setting waste on fire in empty plots and roadside corners to deal with the stench and mosquito menace. Thick smoke was seen rising from several localities in Ropar and Nangal on Monday morning.
Doctors and environmental experts warned that burning plastic waste releases toxic gases, including dioxins, furans and carbon monoxide which can lead to severe health complications. They said prolonged exposure to such smoke can trigger asthma, breathing difficulties, eye irritation, skin allergies and lung diseases, particularly among children and elderly persons.
Environmental activists said plastic burning also releases carcinogenic particles into the atmosphere and contributes significantly to air pollution. “People are mixing polythene bags, disposable plates, rubber items and household waste while burning garbage. This releases poisonous fumes which remain suspended in the air for long periods,” said Jaspreet Singh, a local environmental volunteer in Ropar.
Residents expressed anger over the worsening civic conditions. Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Bela Chowk in Ropar town, said garbage heaps outside residential colonies had become unbearable.
Another resident from Nangal, Sunita Sharma, said smoke from burning waste had made it difficult for children and elderly people to breathe.
The sanitation workers across Punjab have been on strike demanding regularisation of services, release of pending salaries and implementation of various assurances made by the government. Earlier during the agitation in Nangal, protesting workers had dumped dead animals and garbage outside the municipal council office, bringing civic functioning to a standstill.
Officials said the Punjab government has initiated talks with unions to end the strike. Local administration officials in the Ropar district have also held meetings with representatives of sanitation workers.
Sources said civic bodies have appealed to workers to resume essential sanitation services in view of the growing public health concerns, but the talks have not yielded any results. The minister for local bodies, Harjot Singh Bains, had proposed to form a committee of officials of the local bodies department and sanitation workers to resolve the issue. It has not been formed due to differences among striking sanitation worker groups.
Health authorities have also expressed concern over the possibility of the spread of vector-borne diseases due to garbage accumulation and stagnant waste. Residents have urged the government to resolve the impasse quickly before the situation deteriorates further with the onset of summer heat.
