Sanitation workers in Ludhiana on Saturday called off their six-day-long strike after a marathon meeting lasting over eight hours with Local Bodies Minister Harjot Singh Bains.With heaps of garbage strewn across the city during the agitation, the clean-up drive began immediately after the announcement around 7 pm, as workers started lifting waste with the help of machines and JCBs ahead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit tomorrow.Ludhiana had been stinking over the past few days, with foul odour emanating from heaps of garbage at roadsides and street corners as sanitation workers remained on strike for six days.At a press conference late in the evening, Bains announced that the strike had been called off across the state and garbage lifting would begin soon. He said all the important demands of the unions had been accepted by the AAP government and the two sides would meet again on Monday in Chandigarh to put everything in writing.Bains also said stern action would be taken against those misleading safai sewaks and sewermen by posting fake letters on social media. Among the important demands accepted by the state government is the absorption, from August 1, of outsourced workers who have been working for three years. Their salary has also been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,520 per month. Another demand accepted by the state government is that all safai sewaks and sewermen who were appointed on contract in 2021 will be regularised.Nagar Nigam Karamchari Sangh Ludhiana president DP Khosla too said all major demands of safai sewaks had been accepted and a Bill would soon be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha. “Our main demands included regularisation of contractual staff and that there should be no cap on their number as they have been working for the MC for many years. We are also happy that an SIT has been formed by the government to probe the alleged thrashing of safai sewaks by the police in Barnala,” he said.Today’s meeting in Ludhiana assumed significance as CM Mann is scheduled to visit the city tomorrow to inaugurate a School of Eminence. “The government came to the table as the city was in a miserable condition, with garbage scattered all over, and ahead of the CM’s visit, the authorities wanted to resolve the issue,” Khosla said.Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain said the issues were resolved amicably with the union leaders and the government had agreed to most of their demands. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar said residents were suffering due to piles of garbage in the city and the authorities had been trying their best to end the deadlock.