Hundreds of sanitation workers from across Punjab today converged at Nangal in Ropar district to stage a dharna against the AAP government. They vowed to intensify their week-long agitation over service related demands that has crippled garbage collection across several urban local bodies in the state.Sanitation workers affiliated with different unions gathered at the Truck Union Chowk in Nangal, where they held a rally before taking out a protest march through the town. Carrying banners and raising slogans against the state government, the protesters demanded immediate acceptance of their long-pending demands.With garbage collection suspended in several cities and towns, heaps of uncollected waste have accumulated along roadsides, residential colonies and market areas, drawing sharp criticism from residents.The deteriorating sanitation conditions have triggered public concern, particularly in view of the prevailing wet weather. Residents have complained of stench emanating from the accumulated garbage and expressed apprehensions that the unhygienic conditions could lead to the outbreak of diseases if the strike continues.District president of the sanitation workers union, Kaushal Kumar, said the employees were demanding regularisation of all sanitation workers currently serving on contract in various urban local bodies.”We want all sanitation workers employed on contract to be regularised in government service. Those working through outsourcing agencies should be brought under the contractual employment system,” Kumar said while addressing the gathering.He said the union was also seeking a reduction in the mandatory contractual service period required for regularisation from the existing 10 years to three years.Apart from service regularisation, the protesting employees are demanding implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees and release of pending Dearness Allowance (DA), he said.Union leaders alleged that despite repeated representations and protests over the past several months, the government had failed to address their grievances, leaving them with no option but to resort to an indefinite strike.Sources in the Local Government Department said the Punjab Government has been making efforts to resolve the deadlock and restore sanitation services in urban areas. Officials of the department have held multiple rounds of discussions with representatives of sanitation workers unions over the past few days, but the negotiations have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.According to the sources, while some demands were discussed during the meetings, fresh issues raised by the unions prevented the two sides from arriving at a consensus.Punjab Local Government and School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains confirmed that discussions with representatives of the sanitation workers had taken place.”Meetings have been held with the representatives of the sanitation workers. However, they have come up with some fresh demands. These demands will be discussed with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and the Cabinet before any decision is taken,” Bains told The Tribune.He said the government’s priority was to restore normal sanitation services at the earliest. “We are making every effort to ensure that the sanitation workers call off their strike so that the sanitation situation in the urban areas of the state improves,” the minister said.The strike continues to disrupt civic services across Punjab. Municipal authorities in several towns are struggling to cope with mounting garbage, while residents are urging both the government and the unions to resolve the impasse before the public health situation worsens.