Waste from six municipal areas could not be processed on Monday after workers stayed away from a dump yard in Dum Dum following alleged threats and demands from a local group, according to the agency operating the facility. Police in the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said they had begun examining CCTV footage submitted by the complainant.
Sudhir Satnaliwala, owner of the agency contracted to process waste at the site, alleged that the group had links with the BJP and that its members had attacked and threatened employees. He also alleged that the local BJP MLA had sent the men. The MLA, Arijit Bakshi, denied the allegation and said residents had gone to the dump yard to protest alleged anti-social activities in the area.
Satnaliwala said the group visited the facility on Saturday evening and assaulted the site-in-charge and site supervisor. He alleged that the two employees were taken to a club near Deshbandhu School, where they and other personnel were heckled, abused and threatened if the group’s demands were not met immediately.
According to the agency owner, the demands included appointing people from the club, removing existing staff, using dumpers supplied by the group, making monthly payments to the club, sponsoring a local football match and allowing the group to control the supply of construction material to the site. These allegations have not been independently established.
Satnaliwala said most employees did not report for work on Monday because they were afraid of further threats. “My employees are scared. These men are making individual calls to them. Only four to five people turned up for work. If this goes on, how will we work?” he said.
The agency owner also alleged that local police initially refused to accept the complaint, after which he sent it by email. He said employees were called to the police station on Monday evening after the police began examining the matter. The Barrackpore Police Commissionerate officer cited in the report confirmed that CCTV footage provided by the complainant was being examined.
Bakshi rejected any connection between the alleged attackers and the BJP. He said the dump yard was associated with alleged anti-social activities, including drug-related activity, and that women felt unsafe while crossing the stretch. “None of those who went to the dump yard were from the BJP,” he said, adding that residents may have gone there to protest against illegal activities.
The disruption places attention on the operational vulnerability of municipal waste systems, where the absence of workers at a single processing site can affect several local bodies at once. In this case, the immediate issue remains the safety of personnel and the restoration of waste-processing work while the police examine the CCTV footage and the competing allegations.
