Srinagar, Apr 9: With over a thousand metric tons of garbage mounting the City streets and government employees continuing the strike, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has put labourers including Biharis, and NGOs on the trash lifting job.
 On Friday the labourers, most of them non-locals, were seen clearing garbage from the fashionable Residency Road and other areas of the City, particularly those frequented by the VIPs.
 “We are used to any kind of work. As this time we are being paid for sanitation work, we are doing it,” said a labourer while lifting the garbage.
 He, however, said the work of “exclusive lifting of garbage” was something new for him.
 “We rarely do sanitation job that too at construction sites when the finishing touches are being given,” said the labourer hailing from Bihar.
 He said the group was reluctant to do the dirty job with uncovered hands.
 “We don’t even touch cement without wearing gloves,” he said.
 Interestingly, there demand was met as the labourers could be seen wearing rubber gloves.
 The labourers said they were hired for the job through their group leader.
 “We work on the instructions of the group leader and as he put us on the garbage lifting job, we’ll continue to do it till further orders,” the labourers said.
 But the labourers said they were yet to get “hold over efficient garbage lifting.”
 “It will take us some weeks to become well versed with garbage lifting.”
 The SMC Commissioner, Meraj Ahmed Kakroo termed the development a “contingency plan” to get rid of the garbage.
 “We’ve started the operations by hiring of private labourers and NGOs having the logistic support.”
 He said the development was the need of the hour.
 “The Municipal employees associated with the sanitation are on strike. But given the fact that the sanitation is important and critical area of activity of the SMC, we couldn’t ignore it,” the Commissioner told Greater Kashmir.
 He said over 300 metric tons of garbage are thrown in the City everyday. This means some 1800 metric tones of the trash have piled up.
 “We have started cleaning roads and subsequent shifting of the garbage to dumping yard,” the Commissioner added.
 Kakroo had some word of advice for the Srinagarites.
 “I appeal the people to throw the garbage at specified points only so that its lifting becomes easy,” the Commissioner said.
 Meanwhile, he also appealed the striking SMC employees to resume work.
 “I appeal the SMC employees to associate with sanitation operations as it otherwise could lead to health hazards.”
 The people living in various residential colonies in the City, on the hand complained that garbage hasn’t been lifted from there since past week when the state government employees went on strike pressing for their demands.
 “With rise in temperature the garbage heaps stink and there’s every fear of outbreak of epidemic,” said a medico Dr Salim while pointing towards a trash heap at Karan Nagar.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 9 Apr 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 9 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:00 IST