Strike Called Off, Garbage Woes Persist In Many Areas

Nagpur sanitation workers called off their strike on Sunday, but many parts of the city were still dealing with uncollected garbage and cleanup delays on Monday.

The stoppage had disrupted door-to-door waste collection across Nagpur Municipal Corporation Zones 1 to 5 for three days. By the time work resumed, a large backlog had built up in homes, housing societies, commercial areas and roadsides.

Strike ended after assurance

The workers are contractual employees of Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited, which handles waste collection in the affected NMC zones. A union representative said the strike was withdrawn after the company agreed to address their demands.

Rajesh Bhagat, deputy commissioner of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's Solid Waste Management Department, confirmed that services resumed from Sunday.

The dispute involved delayed May salary payments and pending earned leave dues. TOI reported the earned leave dues at roughly Rs 1.75 crore.

Cleanup still behind

Even after the strike ended, garbage remained visible in many localities on Monday, marking a fourth consecutive day of waste problems in some areas. Residents were still seeing piles of uncollected waste as cleanup crews worked through the backlog.

The affected zones generate about 600 metric tonnes of waste each day, which added to the scale of the disruption once collection stopped.

Intermittent rainfall made conditions worse. Wet garbage was slower to clear and added to the foul smell in several places.

Wider civic impact

The strike also disrupted the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's cleanliness fortnight campaign, putting extra pressure on the civic body during a public sanitation drive.

The impact was visible beyond the collection route. Roadsides, homes and market areas were all affected by the missed pickups, and the cleanup did not normalize immediately once the strike ended.

What comes next

The immediate challenge for the NMC and the contractor is clearing the accumulated waste across the affected zones. Based on the reported backlog, residents should expect recovery to happen in stages rather than all at once.

Further reporting will need to show whether Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited fully settles the dues at issue and whether service interruptions return.