By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 26 Dec: Work at the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (Doon Nagar Nigam) remained paralysed for the second consecutive day today as the confrontation between Municipal Commissioner Namami Bansal and Congress corporator Robin shows no signs of resolution. Today, the municipal employees continued their strike, making it clear that they would not return to duty until the Congress Corporator concerned issues a public apology.
However, despite attempts by the Municipal Commissioner to negotiate and persuade the staff to call off the strike, her efforts failed to break the deadlock and the strike continued for the second day today. It may be recalled that the dispute had begun on Tuesday when Robin, the municipal corporator from Ward 47, arrived at the Nagar Nigam office with his supporters and gheraoed the chamber of Municipal Commissioner Namami Bansal, accusing her of making him wait and not responding to his telephone calls. A heated exchange ensued between the two, leading to tension within the office. Robin alleged that the Municipal Commissioner objected to his loud tone and ordered him to leave her chamber. He further alleged that while development works worth over Rs 70 lakhs have been sanctioned in certain wards, his own ward has not received any allocation. He accused the administration of favouritism and discrimination, and claimed that some members were being granted budgets up to Rs 1 crore, while others were restricted to Rs 20 lakhs.
Robin claimed that he was subjected to indecent behaviour and suggested that the CCTV footage of the chamber can clarify the matter. He said that if found guilty he would apologise, but if the Commissioner was at fault, she too must apologise publicly.
Meanwhile, employees of the Municipal Corporation expressed strong resentment over Robin’s conduct and have been on strike since yesterday. They declared that their agitation would continue until the municipal corporator tenders a public apology, asserting that there would be no compromise on their self-respect. The strike has caused considerable inconvenience to the public, with essential civic work remaining stalled.
On the other hand, Municipal Commissioner Namami Bansal stated that continuous efforts are being made through discussions with all three employee unions to end the strike and to ensure that work in different sections resumes smoothly for the benefit of the citizens. However, the impasse persists as of now, as the employees refused to relent without a public apology from the corporator concerned.
