The ongoing strike by sanitation workers in Karnal entered its 13 day on Wednesday, severely affecting cleanliness operations across the city and triggering growing resentment among residents.
The situation worsened from Tuesday after employees of the private agency engaged in door-to-door garbage collection also extended support to the strike, leading to a complete disruption of waste collection in several areas.
Heaps of garbage could be seen lying unattended on roadsides and in markets, while overflowing dustbins inside residential areas emitted a foul smell and created unhygienic conditions. Residents complained that stray animals were scattering waste on roads, making the situation even more pathetic. Many expressed concern over the possible spread of diseases due to rotting garbage and stagnant waste.
In several localities, residents were forced to keep garbage bags inside their homes as collection vehicles had failed to arrive for the past several days.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders, led by District Urban president Parag Gaba, Joginder Valmiki and other party workers, extended support to the protesting employees and criticised the government for its “stubborn and insensitive attitude.”
“The government should immediately hold talks with the employees and resolve their genuine demands instead of adopting an adamant approach. The common public is suffering because of the government’s failure,” said Gaba.
Joginder Valmiki said the sanitation workers had been demanding justice for a long time, but their concerns were being ignored. “These workers kept the city clean day and night, but today they are being forced to sit on roads for their rights,” he added.
Raj Kumar, president of the Karnal Municipal Employees Union, said the employees were demanding regularisation of contractual workers. “The government is not serious about resolving the issue. The strike will continue till our demands are accepted,” he said.
Meanwhile, sanitation workers also reached out to the general public to make them aware of their issues and sought their cooperation during the strike.
Officials are worried that the ongoing sanitation crisis may affect Karnal’s performance in the upcoming Swachh Survekshan assessment, as the survey team may visit the city anytime this month.
Karnal had secured the third rank in the country in the ‘Swachh Shehar’ category (population 50,000–3 lakh) during Swachh Survekshan 2024–25 and became Haryana’s first city to receive the award from President Droupadi Murmu.
Following the achievement, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the Swachh Shehar Jodi initiative, under which Karnal was assigned mentoring responsibilities for five smaller municipal bodies — Siwan, Ismailabad, Narnaund, Kalanwali and Rajound.
A senior official of the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC), speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the strike was severely affecting sanitation arrangements in the city.
