A group of AAP volunteers using brooms to sweep a road in East Delhi.
The sight of rotting garbage deliberately scattered on roads in Delhi, is being seen as a direct fallout of politics between the state's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP, which controls the civic body.
12,000 sanitation workers, who have been on strike since Friday, allege that they have not been paid since February. Protesting workers have deliberately dumped garbage on the streets of East Delhi - Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar - to draw attention of the authorities.
A group of AAP volunteers and a legislator were seen today using brooms to sweep a road in east Delhi where a huge pile of trash has caused traffic jams.
The vigorous sweeping by AAP representatives - whose party symbol is a broom - have not gone down well with the workers. "They were hired labourers who were given AAP caps. If the ruling party does not listen to us, we will start throwing garbage at their MLAs' houses from tomorrow," said a civic worker.
Municipal Commissioner Amit Yadav, however, said that the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has 100 per cent salaries for the month of February, thereby addressing the cause of strike. "We are ready to hold talks and negotiate with them. But going off duty and causing inconvenience is not the answer," said Mr Yadav.
The cash-strapped civic body, which is under BJP's control, had reportedly approach the Delhi government for funds when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said, "If BJP can't run municipal corporations, it should hand them over to us, we will run them."
The workers say they had approached the newly formed AAP government, but were reportedly told to go to the Centre's ruling BJP. AAP lawmaker Nitin Tyagi said, "Centre needs to help the municipal corporation with funds since they are the ones who made the budget."
Delhi BJP president, Satish Updadhyay says, "AAP will be quick to blame the BJP and will make these accusations since their good governance image has been jolted."