Bihar sanitation workers have threatened a fresh statewide strike before Chhath if the state government does not implement an agreement reached with them within 10 days, while uncollected garbage has been reported in several Patna neighbourhoods.
Chandra Prakash Singh, president of the Bihar Local Bodies Employees Joint Struggle Front, said members of the organisation would meet on November 21 to decide on the proposed strike. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Singh alleged that an agreement reached with the urban development minister on August 6 remained unimplemented more than three months after it was signed.
The agreement had followed an eight-day statewide strike by sanitation workers. According to Singh, workers called off the agitation after receiving assurances from the department, but their demands had continued to be ignored. The statement did not specify which provisions of the agreement had not been implemented.
The warning comes as urban local bodies prepare for Chhath, when sanitation and waste collection become particularly important across Bihar. In Patna, residents reported garbage piles along roadsides in parts of Boring Road, Rukanpura, Anandpuri, Patliputra and Kotwali, all within the jurisdiction of the Patna Municipal Corporation.
Residents expressed concern about public hygiene and cleanliness as waste remained uncleared in several localities. The report did not establish whether the accumulation was directly linked to a strike or to a wider operational failure, but it highlighted the pressure on the city’s waste-management system ahead of the festival period.
Singh also alleged that sanitation workers in several urban local bodies had not received their salaries even during Diwali and Chhath. He said payments in some areas were released only after prolonged delays and pressure from workers, and added that permanent employees had also been affected.
The workers’ front further alleged that shortages of equipment and cleaning vehicles had prevented several workers from carrying out their duties properly. These claims point to operational issues beyond wages, including the availability of basic municipal resources needed for door-to-door collection, road sweeping and the movement of waste.
Singh criticised the growing reliance on outsourcing in urban sanitation, alleging that outsourced workers were denied basic facilities and benefits such as living wages, leave, bonuses and social security. The statement framed the dispute as both a service-delivery issue and a labour matter involving workers employed directly by urban local bodies as well as those engaged through contractors.
The immediate deadline set by the workers is 10 days from the warning. Their front is scheduled to meet on November 21 to decide whether to proceed with another statewide agitation. Until then, the implementation of the August 6 agreement, the release of delayed wages and the availability of sanitation equipment remain central issues in the dispute.
