January 14,2026
No-Confidence Turmoil Leaves Wages Unpaid on Festival Day
Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat
Civic life in Balurghat slipped deeper into disarray on Wednesday as sanitation workers stopped work and protested outside the municipal office after their wages remained unpaid—even on Makar Sankranti, a day traditionally marked by celebration.
The protest exposed the fallout from an ongoing political crisis within the Balurghat Municipality, which has been mired in instability since a no-confidence revolt against Chairman Ashok Kumar Mitra. Following mounting dissent among councillors and allegations of administrative failure, Ashok Kumar Mitra resigned, leaving the civic body without effective leadership and its financial machinery in limbo.
Sanitation workers say wage delays are routine, but the current month has been unprecedented. “Every month we are paid late,” one worker said. “This time, after the no-confidence issue and the chairman’s resignation, we were paid nothing at all.”The timing has intensified the hardship. Makar Sankranti, associated with community feasts and pithe-puli, arrived without festivity for workers struggling to meet basic needs. “There is no question of celebration,” another protester said. “We are unsure how to feed our families.”
The work stoppage has disrupted waste collection across parts of the town, raising concerns about sanitation and public health. Residents warned that prolonged inaction could rapidly compound civic disorder.
One person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said procedural gridlock following the leadership vacuum. With no chairman in place and internal divisions unresolved, routine decisions—including wage disbursement—have stalled.
As political negotiations continue behind closed doors, Balurghat’s sanitation workers remain the most visible casualties of the impasse—caught between governance failure and economic precarity, protesting not for concessions, but for wages long overdue.
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