In war of funds, Delhiites will be first to suffer

Dear Mr. Vohra/Editor/HT,

It is not clear from the press reports and the ground situation who is at fault and who is to be blamed! While the Delhi Govt. claims that there is no dues to the MCD, but on the contrary the latter says that money due to them is not being released. In this fight and claim and counter claim, while the media gets a lot of 'masala' to fill their pages and telecast too, the factual position is not known to aam aadmi and they only suffer in this process caring little for their welfare and health! Why the Govt. does not bring out an 'white paper' on the subject and release it to the media so that people at large will know who is at fault and what remedial action could be taken. The people are in a quandary and they don't know what to do in the circumstances. 

It is a pity that even volunteers who wish to do the cleaning on their own volition to keep their premises clean and tidy are not permitted to do this voluntary job and are even prevented to do the job! On the other hand the karmacharies who are on strike spread the garbage deliberately all over the streets and do not realise their responsibilities! What an image we are building up in the process to the world to see in this unfortunate and uncalled for and unwarranted tangle! 

Even the Court's intervention and direction in this specific matter has no positive result or impact! Then who else will bell the cat!! Should we seek the assistance of any foreign agency to intervene in this pitiable matter and settle the issue or call for donations from the public to arrange payment of salaries to the poor staff who are also suffering in this tug-of-war game!!!

In the circumstances should the Central Govt. should be gracious enough to give a loan to the MCD direct, albeit unprecedented, as an one time exercise to overcome the present impasse or the MCD seek a loan from the IMF or such other international agencies to give them an interest free grant or loan to solve this perennial issue coming to the fore from time to time tarnishing the image of the City and the country's capital!! 

Can anybody make an useful and practical solution to the above to ponder over the matter publicly? Why not the our representatives in the MCDs e.g. Councillors, Mayors and officials loan a certain amount voluntarily and help them which will be greatly acknowledged and could fetch votes in the coming election too by giving adequate publicity for the 'sincere and genuine sacrifice' they have made to resolve the issue in the overall interest of the people, whom they represent!!!

TK Balu/Anand Vihar

In war of funds, Delhiites will be first to suffer

APPREHENSION City residents fear streets littered with garbage will return to haunt them if the strike continues

NEW DELHI: Over a lakh municipal workers went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday, threatening a re-run of the last year’s mess when sanitation workers struck work — streets littered with garbage, choked sewers and poorly-maintained roads.

This time, however, it won’t just be sanitation. The civic bodies run a major part of the capital, providing key services such as sanitation, health, education, administrative services, licences, etc.

Sanitation staff, engineers, doctors, teachers and administrative staff have all pledged to make the strike successful. Most of the corporation offices in north and east Delhi may not see any work at all till the strike is over.

Residents of the city, however, hope the Delhi government resolve the matter before it becomes difficult again to walk on the streets.

“If money is due to the MCD and it’s not being cleared by the government, then definitely the AAP regime is responsible. We have already faced the garbage menace twice last year and we don’t want that situation again. The government must understand the problem of the people and the issue must be resolved without any more inconvenience to the aam aadmi,” BS Vohra, president of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front (Federation), said.

Rajendra Gupta, member of Model Town F-Block RWA, recounted the misery people faced in his area in October last year.

“Last time too, due to nonpayment of salaries to sanitation staff, garbage was dumped at every nook and corner of our neighbourhood, including the main road leading to Azadpur Mandi. That was removed after 10 days. It led to unhygienic conditions and made it difficult for us to even cross the lanes. We tried getting it removed on our own but were stopped from doing that. We ultimately had no other choice but to wait for things to calm down,” Gupta said.

“In the slugfest between the Delhi government and corporations, the common man is suffering,” he added.

Saurabh Gandhi, general secretary, United Residents of Delhi and resident welfare association of Rana Pratap Bagh, felt it was inevitable as the civic bodies’ workers had not been paid their salary for months.

“There is no denying the fact that staff should be paid salary on time because they, too, like all of us, require money for daily expenses. It is unfortunate that they have not been paid money for many months,” he said.

The civic body workers, however, are firm on pursuing their agitation path.

A teacher working with a school falling under the north civic body said, “Half of our school teachers are participating in strike every day. Children are being asked to go back home.”

with thanks : Hindustan Times