More than 150 drivers responsible for collecting waste from homes and hotels in Srinagar went on strike Monday due to unpaid salaries.
These drivers had been requesting their wages for several months, but their frustration reached a breaking point after authorities repeatedly failed to fulfil their promises, according to a senior official from the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), who wished to remain anonymous. “We’ve raised our concerns with the chairman many times, but now only protest will help,” said Malik, one of the drivers, who only shared his surname.
Bashir Ahmad, a sweeper at the SMC, found himself doing extra work today, as his supervisor instructed him to collect household waste in addition to his usual duties of cleaning roads and drains. Ahmad, along with five colleagues, covered an area of approximately four kilometres, including Habba Kadal, Nai Sarak, Barbar Shah, and Ganpatyar. Together, they collected waste from over 600 homes because the usual pickup truck drivers were on strike.
“More than 150 drivers, who collect waste from homes and hotels, are on strike due to unpaid salaries, which have been outstanding for three months,” said Abdul Rashid, the SMC area in-charge, while overseeing the sweepers and cart pullers. Rashid explained that he had instructed his team to gather waste from homes and deposit it at open dumping sites, from where larger garbage trucks would later collect it. He clarified that only the drivers of small pickup trucks, also known as ‘Chota Haathis,’ were on strike, while the larger truck drivers were still working.
While hand-cart pullers have been doing the work of the pickup trucks, they are unable to collect waste from hotels due to the sheer volume and type of rubbish. “Household waste typically consists of dustbin contents and some tea leftovers, but hotel waste includes liquor bottles, meat, and other bulky items that cannot be collected in hand carts or easily managed at open dumping sites,” explained Rashid, accompanied by two sweepers.
Despite previous pledges from the SMC to stop using open waste dumping sites, these locations remain active across the city, with waste being temporarily stored there before being collected by larger SMC trucks. “I’ve been receiving calls from major hotels in Srinagar, desperately asking for their waste to be collected,” Rashid added. Many of these hotels are located in tourist areas such as Khanyar and Munwarabad.
The pickup truck drivers are hired by private agencies, not directly by the SMC. When contacted, SMC Commissioner Dr Owais Ahmad acknowledged that he was aware of the drivers’ grievances but wasn’t informed about the strike. “I’ll look into the matter and resolve it,” he said, adding that there are no financial issues within the SMC, and the drivers’ problems may be with their agencies.
( Report Collected By Different Agencies From Srinagar)
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