India, Nov. 7 -- Sanitation workers employed by urban local bodies in Bhopal called off their strike late on Friday night after their representatives met Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, ending an agitation that had left the Madhya Pradesh capital strewn with uncollected waste through Dhanteras. Clearance work began the same night, with district officials headed by Collector Priyank Mishra joining the workers to clear accumulated waste, starting at Number 10 Market.

The strike had begun on November 4, a day after a sit-in at Shahjahan Park, and halted collection across 21 zones and 85 wards. Accounts differed on its status during Friday: one described an indefinite action still running into a second day of disruption, while the account of the...