Violent clashes broke out between striking sanitation workers and police near SD College here on Wednesday during a cleanliness drive launched by the district administration, prompting a lathicharge and the preventive detentions of four workers.
Event Context
The sanitation workers in Barnala have been on strike since July 8, demanding job regularisation. With garbage piling up across the city and raising health concerns during the monsoon season, the district administration and municipal corporation launched a drive to clear the waste.
Tensions escalated when striking workers reached the site and allegedly tried to block the clean-up operation. Barnala deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Satvir Singh said protesters pelted police personnel with stones, empty coconut shells, and trash. “They tried to stop the ongoing cleanliness work and started throwing stones and garbage at the police force. Two to three police officers sustained injuries in the clashes, forcing us to use force to restore law and order,” the DSP said, adding that four workers were taken into preventive custody.
Team Analysis
Gulshan Kumar, president of the Safai Karamchari Union, condemned the police action and alleged that the administration was resorting to force rather than addressing the workers’ demands. Protesters claimed several workers sustained injuries during the police action.
Barnala municipal corporation mayor Hasan Bhardwaj urged the striking workers to prioritise public safety and resume work, saying that the state government had already agreed to most of their demands.
“Some issues cannot be resolved immediately as they are pending in court. During the monsoon season, we cannot expose citizens and children to the risk of disease outbreaks. I appeal to the workers that the administration is with you and ready to negotiate, but we must keep the city clean,” he said.
Taking suo-motu cognisance of media reports about the clashes, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), in a letter to Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha, called for an impartial inquiry and directed the director general of police (DGP) to submit a detailed factual report within seven days. The commission said it will specifically examine the role of the Barnala senior superintendent of police.
