SANITATION WORKERS’ STRIKE ENTERS EIGHT DAY

SANITATION WORKERS’ STRIKE ENTERS EIGHT DAY

7-AUG-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

BUXAR-------------------------The state-wide strike by sanitation workers continued for the eighth consecutive day on Thursday at the Dumraon Municipal Council, following a call by the Joint Struggle Front comprising the Bihar State Local Bodies Employees Federation and the Bihar Local Bodies Employees Federation. Striking workers took out a procession from Naya Bhojpur Chowk, marched through various routes to the Municipal Council office, and held talks with officials regarding their demands.

In the morning, all sanitation workers gathered at Naya Bhojpur Chowk, from where the march proceeded via Gajrava to Gunda Chowk in Naya Bhojpur. A meeting held there was addressed by CPI (ML) leader Sarvesh Kumar Pandey, Shiv Shankar Tiwari, senior CPI leader and Zila Parishad member Kedar Yadav, and Om Prakash Yadav. Subsequently, the procession passed through areas including Naya Bhojpur, Sabzi Mandi, Textile Colony, and Kadvi Block before reaching the Municipal Council office.

Addressing the gathering, speakers stated that the sanitation workers' struggle is against the state government. They warned that if the strike drags on due to the government's obstinacy, heaps of garbage could pile up across the city, causing inconvenience to residents during the festive season. They emphasized that their fight is with the government, not the public. Even if the government does not concede to their demands, the sanitation workers pledged to clean the city's temples and procession routes themselves during the festivals. They stated that this task would be undertaken not as a service to the government, but out of a sense of responsibility and respect towards the city's residents.

During the talks at the Municipal Council office, which lasted nearly two hours, Executive Officer Rahuldhar Dubey, City Sanitation Officer Rajiv Ranjan, Acting Chairperson Vikas Thakur, Empowered Standing Committee members Chhotu Vijay and Anand Kumar, and several councilors were present. Shiv Shankar Tiwari, Bhagwan Paswan, Sarvesh Kumar Pandey, Om Prakash Yadav, and Krishna Prasad represented the Joint Struggle Front and presented local demands to the officials.

During the discussions, the Executive Officer assured the workers that existing local benefits would be effectively delivered to them and promised positive action regarding other local demands. They also proposed deferring the strike; however, union leaders clarified that a decision to postpone the strike—in accordance with the state leadership's directives—would only be taken after talks with the government regarding three key state-level demands yield a positive outcome.

Hundreds of sanitation workers were present during the event, including CPI (ML) City Committee Secretary Krishna Ram, Shailendra Paswan, Babulal Ram, Deepak Basphor, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Munni Devi, and Sheila Devi.