Chandigarh, July 25 -- The Punjab government has told the Punjab and Haryana high court that deputy commissioners have been directed to invoke emergency provisions to deal with the sanitation crisis caused by the workers' ongoing strike. Sanitation workers in various parts of Punjab have been on strike since July 8 to demand regular job contracts for outsourced staff, salary increases and restoration of the old pension scheme - leaving mounds of garbage piled up in public places, including roads. Sanitation workers' unions have decided to go on a statewide strike from July 26 onwards if the state government fails to address their demands by then. Representatives of various unions from across the state attended a meeting convened by the Punjab State Safai Karamchari Commission in Jalandhar on Thursday, a day after police used force on protesting sanitation workers in Barnala. The government told the court that all deputy commissioners (DCs) had been directed to immediately invoke Sections 233 and 234 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, and ensure that all municipal councils and nagar panchayats had alternativecontingency measures to prevent disruption of municipal waste work. The provisions empower the DCs to execute emergency municipal work or step in when a municipal committee fails to perform required duties, utilising the municipal fund. Similarly, in the case of corporations, the government has invoked power under Section 405 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, and issued directions to all DCs to take similar action. These powers can be invoked by the state when a corporation fails to perform its duties. The information was given during the resumed hearing of a petition filed by a group of Sangrur residents, highlighting the grave sanitation crisis in the city. Observing that the workers' strike during the monsoon raised the risk of an epidemic, the high court on July 20 sought an affidavit from the government, detailing steps taken to tackle the "alarming situation". In its response, the government added that civic bodies had been told to ensure appropriate contingency measures so that, in no circumstances, there was any disruption in the collection, lifting, transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste. "Adequate door-to-door collection of municipal solid waste is carried out from all designated collection points. All collected garbage is transported and disposed of only at the designated waste disposal/dump sites. Further, after lifting the garbage, proper sanitisation and disinfection of the affected areas are carried out," MCs have been told. Further, sensitive locations where garbage accumulation is generally high should be monitored regularly to prevent excessive accumulation of waste. "All necessary measures are taken to ensure efficient collection, transportation, and scientific disposal of municipal solid waste in accordance with the applicable rules and guidelines," the local bodies department has directed. The court has now posted the matter for August 8 after an undertaking by the government counsel that directions issued by the department would remain in force till the issue of strike is resolved. Condemning the police action against protesting sanitation workers in Barnala on July 22, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday said he will move the Punjab and Haryana high court. Addressing a press conference, Warring alleged grave violations of workers' human rights in the incident. Bahujan Samaj Party MLA from Nawanshahr, Nachhatar Pal, wrote to Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha, seeking a high-level judicial inquiry into the assault incident. He said the incident had caused widespread resentment among members of the Scheduled Caste community, to which many sanitation workers belong, and had hurt public sentiments. Seeking immediate intervention, Pal urged the chief secretary to order a thorough inquiry by a senior officer not below the rank of DSP or SHO, register an FIR against the police personnel and administrative officials responsible for the alleged excesses, institute a high-level judicial probe headed by a senior IAS or IPS officer, and ensure immediate medical treatment and adequate compensation for the injured sanitation workers....