PANCHKULA: Door-to-door garbage collectors along with their association president and two members of Panchkula Vikas Manch were booked for allegedly instigating protesters, throwing garbage in front of the municipal corporation (MC) office and blocking its entry and exit during their protest against privatisation of the system.
The case was registered on the complaint of deputy municipal commissioner Deepak Sura. Protesters denied causing any hurdle in MC work and claimed MC officials were trying to silence their voices against privatisation.
Sura said on April 1, garbage collectors staged a protest against the MC for privatisation. He alleged the garbage collectors were instigated by their president Manju Kumar, along with Panchkula Vikas Manch members Rakesh Aggarwal, a resident of Sector 12 and Devraj Sharma, a resident of Sector 19.
Manju Kumar, president, door-to-door garbage collectors union, Panchkula said they were following NGT guidelines and wanted to work independently. "Registering an FIR against us for our peaceful protest is not fair. MC officials and the government are misusing their power and trying to threaten us with FIR, but we are not afraid. We are fighting for our rights and will continue to do so," he said. He added that they would intensify their agitation against MC officials for alleged scams and scandals in disbursal of grants received during the Covid pandemic.
Rakesh Aggarwal and Dev Raj Sharma, members of Panchkula Vikas Manch, also said that they were protesting against scams which took place during the peak of the Covid pandemic. They said that they had no role in instigating garbage collectors. Dev Raj Sharma said, "MC officials are involved in scams worth crores, including payments taken by officials for last rites of Covid patients, wood purchased for last rites at higher prices, among others. Officials are afraid of getting caught in scams as we have put several RTIs which will disclose the truth behind the scams. We will raise the issue as public money is involved in it."
