Sanitary workers continue protests in Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 1: Sanitary workers of Delhi's three main civic bodies on Monday protested for a sixth day against non-payment of salaries, directing their ire at both the Delhi and central governments.

Hundreds of employees of the municipal corporation staged a noisy demonstration outside Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra's Yamuna Vihar residence in east Delhi and dumped garbage there.

"We will continue to dump garbage on the streets of Delhi till our demands are met," Sanjay Gehlot, president of the Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukta Morcha, told IANS.

Gehlot warned Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government not to clear the garbage dumped by the protesting workers. "We will not let the government carry out cleaniness drive in any part of the city," he said.

The strikers earlier dumped garbage outside the residences of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Transport Minister Gopal Rai.

Another section of workers held a demonstration outside the official residence of union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu.

On Sunday, hundreds of AAP activists took to the streets and cleaned up piled up garbage in parts of the capital.

The three wings of the municipal corporation, controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have accused the AAP government of not paying money to the civic bodies, leading to the present financial crisis.

The AAP government denies this, saying non-payment of salaries is the result of poor governance in the municipal bodies.

The East Delhi, North Delhi and South Delhi municipal corporations account for most of the capital. The two other smaller civic bodies in the city are the Delhi Cantonment Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council.

Sanitary employees of three civic corporations have been on strike since January 27, demanding payment of salaries and pending wages.

IANS