Jaipur Municipal Corporation’s ward-wise Diwali cleanliness drive has drawn criticism from councillors in the Kishanpole zone, who say the deployment of sanitation workers for the campaign is disrupting routine cleaning in other wards amid an ongoing hopper workers’ strike.
The campaign was inaugurated by Mayor Sunil Kothari in Ward 112 on Thursday, with sanitation workers from across the Kishanpole zone assigned to the drive. The next phase is scheduled for Ward 104 on Saturday, and workers from different wards in the zone have already been directed to participate.
Mohammad Zakariya, councillor from Ward 114, welcomed the campaign but said the civic body must ensure that regular sanitation services do not suffer elsewhere. “The campaign is a positive step, but it should not result in neglect of cleanliness in other wards,” he said.
Zakariya suggested that the Jaipur Municipal Corporation either increase the number of sanitation workers or maintain sufficient staff strength in every ward while conducting special cleanliness campaigns. His concern centres on the diversion of workers from routine operations to concentrated drives in selected wards.
Councillor Sunita Methi also raised concerns about the effect of the deployment on her ward. “Our ward already has sanitation problems. Taking workers away from here is completely wrong,” she said.
The campaign is also being conducted while a strike by hopper workers in the Kishanpole zone has affected waste collection. Hopper workers are involved in the collection and movement of waste, and the strike has added pressure to the corporation’s routine sanitation operations, according to the report.
Niharika Sharma, deputy commissioner of the Kishanpole zone, said the state government was in the process of recruiting sanitation workers. She said the civic administration would ensure that sanitation in other wards was not affected because of the campaign.
The dispute highlights the operational challenge facing municipal bodies when special cleanliness drives are organised without additional staff capacity. A ward-wise campaign requires workers to be concentrated in selected locations, while everyday sanitation services must continue across all wards. In Kishanpole, the hopper workers’ strike has created an additional disruption to waste collection.
The municipal corporation now has to conduct the next phase of the drive in Ward 104 while maintaining routine cleaning and waste collection in the rest of the zone. The deputy commissioner’s assurance that other wards will not be affected and the state government’s recruitment process are the immediate administrative steps cited in the report.
