Policemen in Hyderabad took to the streets with brooms in their hands
A group of policemen wielded a new set of weapons today to ensure people's safety in Hyderabad. About 150 men in uniform took the broom in hand to clean up the area between Madina and Mecca Masjid in the Old City, with help from locals.
For the last three days, no garbage has been collected or lifted anywhere in Hyderabad and the rest of Telangana, as 30,000 municipal workers are on strike demanding pay revision.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, V Satyanarayana told NDTV, "The area is frequented by tourists since the Charminar and other attractions are there. Besides, it is Ramzan season, so there are huge crowds and lot of fruit waste etc on the road. So we thought we would clean up the area ourselves.''
The city produces nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of garbage daily. With sanitation, transportation and teams of the anti-malaria operations staying away from work, the city has garbage overflowing from collection bins and strewn all over the roads as well.
"People are just closing their nose with handkerchief and walking past. As citizens we should most certainly be doing more," Ishwarya, a resident of Marredpally who takes an active interest in keeping the neighbourhood clean told NDTV.
Another resident, Kausalya said, "Waste from hospitals, religious places, everything is getting dumped here. Soon the rains will be here and I dread to think of the health risks."
The municipal workers want their pay to be hiked from Rs 6700 a month to being at par with lowest government wages. They also want hike in salary of outsourced workers, health cards for permanent employees and an insurance coverage of upto Rs 5 lakh.
Local union leader Vinay Kapoor said, "Sanitation workers face huge health risks. There is high incidence of TB, lung cancer and other ailments.''
The local administration has appealed to the striking workers to return to work and keep city clean, assuring them that the chief minister will look into their demands.