Overview
- Election travel by sanitation workers to Assam and West Bengal has left garbage collection erratic across Lucknow, with crews missing rounds in multiple zones.
- Officials say earlier Aadhaar verification drives had already thinned the workforce, with reports now suggesting thousands more left for voting and deepening the shortfall.
- The municipal corporation has pushed double shifts and longer hours, and private operator LSA says about 600 collectors are on leave as teams work to 9 pm and the city hires daily-wage help paid ₹1,000–₹1,500.
- Residents report missed pickups for five to nearly fourteen days in areas including Ismailganj, Indira Nagar, Aliganj, and Viraj Khand, leaving trash piled up at homes and on streets.
- Lucknow typically fields about 3,500 workers and 1,430 vehicles to collect roughly 2,100 tonnes a day, yet leaders including Mayor Sushma Kharkwal and Additional Municipal Commissioner Arvind Rao say current staffing cannot meet demand.