Delhi govt flaunts cleanliness drives while 1,500 school sanitation workers go unpaid for 5 months
New Delhi: Even as the Delhi government flaunts its cleanliness drives and school hygiene campaigns, nearly 1,500 sanitation workers deployed across around 250 schools have gone unpaid for the last five months, as reported The New Indian Express on Friday.
These workers, hired through the outsourcing agency Orion Security Solutions Pvt. Ltd., have reportedly not received a single month's salary since April 2025, despite being responsible for the daily cleaning and maintenance of schools under the Directorate of Education.
The issue was formally raised by senior lawyer Ashok Agarwal, who has written to the Secretary of Education demanding immediate action. In his letter, Agarwal called the situation “inhuman,” noting that the continued denial of wages has caused severe financial and social distress for the workers and their families, who are struggling to meet basic needs.
“For the last five months, these sanitation workers have not been paid their due salaries. It is most unfortunate that these employees, who already belong to a very low-income group and live hand-to-mouth, are being subjected to such inhuman treatment,” Agarwal wrote.
He also mentioned that the non-payment of salaries is not only illegal and unjustified but also a violation of the fundamental right to livelihood, protected under Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution of India, in addition to breaching several labour laws, added the report.
Agarwal has urged the education department to immediately disburse all pending payments and to establish a systemic mechanism to prevent such delays in the future.
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23-year-old woman found dead at Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was found dead in her house in Delhi's Prem Nagar area, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, an official said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Anjali Singh, was found motionless in her room on Monday by her sister and her neighbour.
Police said her father, Vinod Kumar Singh (51), told them that he and his wife were away at work at the time of the incident, while their son and the other daughter were also not at home at the time of the incident.
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According to the family, the room in which Anjali was found was locked from the inside. The door was later forcibly opened by a neighbour and her sister with the help of a crowbar.
Her body was found lying on the bed inside the room, police said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Anjali had allegedly hanged herself using a piece of cloth tied to the ceiling fan.
It is suspected that the noose eventually might have loosened or torn off, resulting in her being found lying on the bed.
Family members informed the police that Anjali was a final-year student of a librarian science course from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). About a week ago, her final-year examination results were declared, and she had failed, following which she had been under depression, they said.
The family has not raised any allegation of foul play, police said, adding that no suicide note or external injury marks were found on the body during the initial inspection.
Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter as per the law. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, and further investigation is underway, police added.
