Several Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) garbage collection workers were detained by police near the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Saturday while protesting proposed changes to Hyderabad’s door-to-door garbage collection system, according to a report by Telangana Today – Hyderabad.
The workers were opposing the proposed handover of collection work to private agencies and demanded that the existing system continue. They carried placards stating their opposition to the private agency model and sought protection for their current work.
The protesters said they wanted to continue collecting household waste door to door rather than being shifted to wage- or salary-based employment. Their objection centres on both the proposed operating model and the effect it could have on the nature of their existing work.
Police took several workers into custody when they attempted to proceed towards the Assembly, the report said. The detained workers were shifted to a nearby police station. The report did not specify how many workers were detained or whether they were subsequently released.
Door-to-door collection is the first operational link in Hyderabad’s municipal waste system, connecting households with the wider chain of waste transportation and disposal. Any change to the collection arrangement could therefore affect both the workforce involved and the way residents hand over daily household waste.
The protest also brings the employment structure of municipal sanitation services into focus. The workers are seeking continuity in the decades-old collection arrangement, while opposing a transition in which private agencies would take over the work. Their demand is for continuation of door-to-door collection rather than a shift to wage- or salary-based jobs.
The report did not include a response from the GHMC or the Telangana government on the proposed changes, the status of the detained workers or the timeline for any new collection arrangement. Further official details on the proposed system and the administration’s next steps remain awaited.
