Bhopal’s sanitation workers’ strike entered its second day on Thursday, halting garbage collection across all 85 wards of the city just as households and markets prepare for Diwali, according to a report by Times of India – Bhopal. Overflowing bins and roadside waste have been reported from New Bhopal to the walled city, while employee unions have threatened to stop water supply if their demands are not accepted.
Door-to-door garbage collection vehicles remained off the roads, leaving residential colonies and market areas without their routine collection service. On Link Road No 1, waste dumped near a dustbin outside a petrol pump had spilled onto the adjoining road. The disruption has become increasingly visible as residents carry out festive cleaning and shopping activity increases across neighbourhoods.
The strike has affected sanitation operations in the Bhopal Municipal Corporation’s 21 zones. The city generates approximately 900 tonnes of garbage every day, with collection vehicles normally making two to three rounds to collect household waste. With those vehicles not operating, waste is accumulating at collection points and along roadsides rather than moving through the city’s regular disposal chain.
The disruption has also affected the complaint and response mechanism available to residents. According to the report, BMC health wing zone officers were not responding to calls from unfamiliar numbers, making it difficult for residents to register complaints or obtain information about when garbage clearance would resume. The report did not specify whether the civic body had activated an alternative helpline or emergency collection arrangement.
In some localities, accumulated waste was reportedly set on fire by residents or others attempting to clear the surroundings. Burning waste in residential areas can expose nearby households to smoke and worsen local air pollution, although the report did not provide air-quality readings or identify the materials being burned.
Residents quoted in the report said the timing had intensified the inconvenience. “Everyone is cleaning their homes for Diwali, but nobody is cleaning the streets. The garbage has been lying here for two days,” was the concern expressed in affected localities. The contrast between household preparations and uncollected public waste has made the service disruption particularly apparent.
The potential escalation involves Bhopal’s water network. Employee unions of the civic body have threatened to stop water supply from Friday if their demands are not accepted. Bhopal has more than four lakh tap connections, meaning a water-supply stoppage could affect thousands of households. The report did not state the unions’ specific demands or confirm whether negotiations with the municipal administration had produced an agreement.
For the moment, garbage collection remains suspended across the city, while residents await intervention from the municipal administration. The next reported milestone is the threatened water-supply stoppage from Friday if the strike remains unresolved.
