Jaipur: Waste disposal services across Rajasthan started returning to normal Wednesday evening after Valmiki sanitation workers withdrew their statewide strike following assurances from the state govt on their key demands.The strike, which began Saturday, disrupted waste collection across Jaipur and several other cities, leaving garbage piled up on roads and in residential areas. The withdrawal came after talks between the govt and the Sayukt Valmiki Evam Safayi Shramik Sangh held here.Nandkishore Dandoriya, president of the Sangh, said the agitation was forced by the govt’s failure to act on its earlier commitments. The protesters were demanding priority for members of the Valmiki community in sanitation recruitment and abolition of the contract system by regularising staff after two years of service.“There were written agreements with the state govt in the past. During protests, our demands are accepted but when it comes to implementation, rules and procedures are cited to delay the same. Today again the state govt has given us assurance. We have called off the strike and are waiting for the govt to implement the demands,” Dandoriya said.A senior official of the local self-govt department said the state agreed to implement almost all demands, including giving recruitment priority to Valmiki candidates and making sanitation workers permanent after two years of service. The state also agreed not to deduct wages for the days of the strike.This was the fourth strike by sanitation workers in Rajasthan over the same demands in the past year, reflecting continued mistrust over implementation of earlier assurances.
