Permanent and temporary employees of Barisal City Corporation (BCC) suspended indefinite strike yesterday following a meeting with Deputy Commissioner of Barisal Md Habibur Rahman, BCC Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal, and forty councilors, officials of police and district administration and citizen representatives. After the meeting BCC Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal said, BCC will pay two months’ arrears with three months’ provident fund among the temporary and permanent employees today. During the meeting DC urged the employees to withdraw the strike.

Dipak Lal Mridha, leader of the agitated workers said, after meeting with DC Barisal, Mayor and Councilors, we suspended our indefinite strike, as mayor acknowledged the justification of our demands and fulfilled most of those. On the other hand, the stench of dumped garbage is becoming unbearable in the city as cleaners and sweepers have joined the month-long strike.

The election pledge of BCC mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal was that Barisal would soon be turned into the cleanest city in the country. But the promise has come back to haunt him.

A total of 669 labourers, including 348 sweepers, have stopped removing garbage from dustbins since Sunday due to strike.

At present, more than 200 open dustbins, full to the brim, are lying around the city. At least 60 tonnes of garbage have been dumped on to the city streets for the last two days. People passing by these places cannot help but put handkerchiefs on their noses. The situation is getting worse every moment.

Dipok Lal Mridha, conservancy officer of the BCC, said that several tonnes of garbage, including clinical wastes, are dumped into 160 dustbins of the city every day.  The clinical wastes are dumped by one medical college hospital, three other hospitals, and 47 clinics and diagnostic centres of the city.

When asked, Kamal said on Monday some employees were intentionally running the strike under the aegis of the ruling political party.  He, however, expressed hope that the situation would be resolved soon.