Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi: As sanitation crisis looms at dharna sites, corporation deploys special teams

NEW DELHI: The dharna by farmers at the borders has become a serious cause for concern for the municipal corporations. As the protesters have not been allowed to enter Delhi for the past one week, cooking and langars are a common sight at Singhu and Tikri borders. With the leftovers often being dumped on the roadsides or central verges, a sanitation crisis seems to be looming in the area. Officials of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, however, claimed that they had deployed special teams for cleaning and lifting of garbage multiple times during the day at both the borders. “Last week, we had deployed 60 sanitation workers, two suction-cum-jetting machines, three auto tippers and five huge bins with separate compartments for biodegradable and recyclable waste at the Nirankari Samagam ground in Burari. But after a majority of farmers refused to shift there, we decided to make similar arrangements at both the borders falling within our jurisdiction,” said a north corporation official. The sanitation teams have reportedly been working in three shifts without any break. “They have been provided trucks, tippers and carts for lifting garbage from the langar sites. Sanitation workers are also regularly sweeping the area. Senior officials are making random visits to the sites to check the status,” said the official. However, a visit by TOI to Singhu border laid bare the claims of the corporation officials. Many farmers complained that there was no provision of water supply in the toilets and the area was not being cleaned. Gurvinder Singh Namdhari, the pradhan of a village in Barnala district in Punjab, said many farmers from his settlement had arrived there in trolleys on November 26. “Our vehicles are parked on the other side of the border. In the initial days, things were fine. But later there was no water supply in the washrooms. We had to ask locals for help. Even sweeping is not being done in the area,” he added. An official, however, claimed that they had placed 17-18 toilets at Singhu border. “Most of them are placed near the toll plaza and cleaned regularly. They have regular water supply. Similar arrangements have been made at Tikri border,” he added. “As far as sweeping is concerned, our staff can’t go inside the barricaded sites. However, they have been lifting garbage from the central verges and roadsides. Staffers from the engineering department are present at the site for making necessary arrangements,” said the official.

The Times of India

2020-12-04

Delhi