Garbage crisis worsens in Patiala as workers’ protest enters 7th day

The city is grappling with a severe garbage crisis as the indefinite strike by sanitation workers entered the seventh day today, bringing the entire waste collection system to a standstill.

The onset of the monsoon has further compounded the problem, resulting in waterlogging at several locations and spreading stench across the city. The striking sanitation workers have been demanding immediate release of their pending EPF dues and the regularisation of long-serving contractual staff.

Their protest has halted the collection of the city’s daily output of approximately 120-140 tonnes of municipal solid waste. While the Patiala Municipal Corporation has a material recovery facility to process segregated waste, nearly 90 per cent of the waste generated is typically dumped at an open landfill — now overflowing due to non-clearance.

For the past one week, garbage has been piling up at collection points across the city and in residential areas, causing serious hygiene concerns.

“The garbage heaps are growing by the day while the authorities and sanitation workers are at loggerheads. It’s the common man who is suffering,” said Sarabjeet Singh, a resident of Ajit Nagar.

Localities such as Partap Nagar and Police Lines are among the worst affected, with the strike leading to disruptions beyond sanitation.

The first spell of monsoon exposed glaring flaws in the city’s drainage infrastructure. Key areas — Anardana Chowk, Chandni Chowk, Urban Estate, Phase-II, Model Town, Chhoti Baradari, the old bus stand and Lahal Colony — were inundated with rainwater. The Twin Park area of Arna Barna Chowk were partially submerged, while residents of Tripuri and Phulkian Enclave found themselves stranded in the water.

“Mathura Colony and Tejbagh Colony are also facing the same fate. Dirty water is entering our homes and the stench of uncollected garbage is unbearable,” said Jagdish Kaur, a resident of Old Bishan Singh Nagar. An official admitted that the control room was receiving around 80 sanitation-related complaints daily, none of which could be addressed due to the ongoing strike.

Punjab