MOHALI, July 4: A standoff between municipal officials and sanitation workers has triggered a full-blown garbage crisis in Mohali, with waste piling up across residential areas and markets as a strike by over 300 garbage collectors entered its fourth day on Thursday.
The impasse began on June 30 after members of the Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation demanded the transfer of a sanitary inspector, Harminder Singh, accusing him of misconduct and abusive behavior. The federation alleges that sanitation workers have faced long-standing mistreatment from certain officials within the Municipal Corporation.
“We were insulted in the municipal commissioner’s office. Some inspectors even locked us in a room when we went to speak peacefully,” said Pawan Godiyal, general secretary of the federation. “We want an official apology from the commissioner and the immediate transfer of Harminder Singh.”
With waste collection suspended, the city’s garbage management has collapsed. Streets and vacant plots are strewn with rotting waste, and 14 Resource Management Centres (RMCs) are overflowing. Sector 80 RMC has become a particularly dire site, with garbage spilling onto the main road.
The federation also used its recent meeting to level broader allegations of corruption within the MC, accusing several sanitary inspectors of flouting promotion norms and remaining in Mohali for over a decade in violation of state transfer rules. “The MC has become a hub of corruption,” said a federation leader, calling for an inquiry into inspectors’ assets and their immediate transfer.
Municipal commissioner Parminder Pal Singh acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating, “We are in dialogue with the sanitation workers and hope to resolve the issue soon. In the meantime, 13 vehicles have been deployed to collect household waste.”
Mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu termed the crisis “a dispute between the MC officials and sanitation staff” and urged swift resolution. “The city’s condition is deteriorating. We have pressed our own vehicles into service to pick up garbage and are actively working toward a settlement,” he said.
As the monsoon intensifies, residents remain trapped in worsening sanitary conditions, demanding urgent administrative action to end the impasse and restore normalcy.
