Barisal Correspondent :
Indefinite strike of BCC officials and employees started since February 17,2018 and stopping cleaning and sweeping since March 18 has turned Barisal city to a city of garbage creating health and environmental hazards.
At least 1600 temporary workers and 541 second class and third class officials and staff went on strike demanding their six months arrear salaries, said Dipak Lal Mridha, Conservancy officer of BCC and one of the leaders of strike.
We became bound to go on strike demanding arrear dues after our repeated calls for that were ignored by the BCC authority, he added.
The temporary workers were basically engaged in cleaning and sweeping unit of the city and they are very poor, so they demanded their full arrear dues and we cannot enforce them to work without salary, Dipak told.
However, due to strike of BCC officials and employees garbage overflowing from dustbins and spreading to different spots of city roads, streets as the sweepers and cleaners stopped working.
The city dwellers forced to cross those spot shutting nose and mouth.
Pedestrians, mainly the office goers, babies, school and college students, daily workers suffering much as the huge deposits of garbage scattered on the roads spreading bad smell and causing serious health and environmental hazards, after visiting the areas found.
Enayet Hossain Chowdhury, one of senior citizen, said we becoming sick as the strike continued.
BCC now turned a dysfunctional institution, said Manabendra Batobayel, another senior citizen.
Rasel Khan, employee of BCC social welfare office said, we have bound to start agitation programme four times in last two years demanding our arrear salaries.
` On April 2 of Last year, BCC authority signed a negation pact to give arrear salary within 3 months, but the authourity later violated that agreement, he added.
Aktaruzzam Hiru, councilor of ward 17, said BCC authority trying their best to solve the problem as soon as possible.
Ahsan Habib Kamal, Barisal City Corporation Mayor said the problem created as appointment of numbers of officials and employees by former Mayors of BCC crossed the capacity of revenue income, so we often fail to clear dues of them.
`We appealed our staffs to receive two months arrear salaries, but they demanded full of arrear and it’s a impossible due to shortage of our fund’ the city mayor added.
