New Delhi: Days ahead of the April 9 Assembly elections in Assam, several towns in Uttar Pradesh are starting to feel the strain on municipal waste.
A number of migrant sanitation workers from Uttar Pradesh are leaving to their native towns in the Northeast state, as a result of which garbage collection has been badly hit. Mounting garbage is causing fears of a potential public health problem in several urban areas, a report in Moneycontrol said.
Several Resident Welfare Associations in Lucknow and other parts of the state have begun issuing advisories cautioning of irregular garbage collection and disruptions in sanitation, as many sweepers and waste collectors go back to their native villages to cast their votes, the report added.
Many of these workers — employed as sweepers, rag pickers, and domestic helps — originally hail from Assam and are leaving before the polling on April 9.
What do residents say
Residents in Lucknow’s Bal Vihar Colony reportedly said that the situation can get very bad if timely collection is not done. They point to the stench that the garbage causes. An office-bearer of the local RWA was quoted in the report as saying: “We are trying to arrange alternatives, but the dependence on migrant workers is so high that even the Nagar Nigam is struggling.”
A senior civic official, revealed that a significant share of the sanitation workforce comes from Assam and neighbouring regions. When they take leave in huge numbers, it creates an instant gap. “We are trying to deploy backup staff, but it is not enough to maintain normal operations,” the official pointed out.
Why are workers anxious
Mohammed Saadiq Ali, a sanitation worker in Lucknow, reportedly said that the decision to leave work during a key period of income was very tough. He said they survive on daily wages and losing even a few days of work hurts them. “But this time, we cannot afford to stay back,” he said.
Ali hails from Assam’s Barpeta district. He expressed his anxiety linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said there was a fear that if they do not cast their ballots, their names could be removed. “People back home are calling us, telling us to return at any cost,” he said. “Because we speak Bengali or Assamese, people often look at us as outsiders or even Bangladeshis,” Ali added.
Even though the travel back home will be very expensive, many like Ali do want to take any chance. Their relatives in Assam are insisting they come and vote this time.
Residents in urban housing societies are already starting to feel the strain. One such resident of a society in Noida’s Sector 54 said two of her domestic helps have asked for leave. They have expressed their willingness to vote and the family is trying to find temporary replacements.
Migrant workers hailing from Assam are also leaving from Kanpur, Bahraich, Gorakhpur, and some other Uttar Pradesh districts. The exodus is huge, which is impacting civil services across cities and towns.