Swachh Auto workers protest privatisation of garbage collection in Hyderabad

Tension erupted at the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Head Office on Friday as Swachh Auto workers protested against the proposed privatisation of door-to-door garbage collection. Workers alleged the government planned to hand over the service to private agencies, threatening their livelihoods, and demanded withdrawal of the proposal.

Protests escalated when demonstrators attempted to enter the GHMC office and were stopped by police. Telangana Swachh Auto Tipper and Rickshaw Workers Union president K Gopal Naik reportedly fainted and was hospitalised. He claimed workers faced mental distress and alleged 10 workers had died in the past month.

Naik appealed to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for intervention, citing that around 50,000 families depend on sanitation work. Workers warned agitation would continue until the government withdrew the privatisation proposal.