— Photo: Lingaraj Panda

STINKING: A scene in a Berhampur locality on Thursday.

BERHAMPUR: The silk city has started to stink with garbage of over 280 tonnes accumulating due to strike by sanitary workers and employees of the Berhampur municipality which entered second day on Thursday.

Talks fail

Meanwhile, the talks between the agitating employees and chairperson of the municipality Sulochana Swain again failed on Thursday. "We'll not join for work till municipality agrees to pay salaries as per recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission," said Anil Kumar Nayak, general secretary of the sanitary workers' union.

Speaking to newsmen, the chairperson said they were making alternative arrangements to remove garbage but did not disclose the arrangements made. But the agitating employees said they would not let any private daily wagers to be deployed in the city to undertake clean up work.

Health officer Shyamghan Biswal expressed his helplessness regarding the deteriorating sanitary condition of the city due to the strike. The city produces over 140 tonnes of garbage every day. Garbage dumps started to encroach many busy roads throughout the city.

Accumulated garbage has started choking the sewerage system. The agitating employees alleged that the chairperson is not showing interest in solving the impasse rather she was busy in taking part in the BJD campaign for the panchyat polls.

Former chairperson of the municipality P.Bhimudu said the municipality could easily agree to the increase in pay-scale of the employees as it was a State Government directiveHe alleged that due to callousness of the municipal authorities the general citizens of the city were suffering due to strike of municipal employees.

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