TAXILA: The lives of dozens of sanitation workers at the Taxila Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital and Wah General Hospital have not been paid for the last three months, forcing them to launch an indefinite strike that has severely disrupted sanitation services at the two public healthcare facilities.

The strike, which has continued for several days, has left routine sanitation work in disarray. Critical services, including cleaning hospital wards, washrooms, waste collection, disinfection, and the safe disposal of hazardous medical waste, have reportedly been suspended or significantly reduced, raising concerns among patients, attendants and healthcare professionals about the risk of infection and diseases.

For the workers, however, the dispute is about survival rather than protest. The protesting employees said repeated appeals to the contractor and the authorities concerned had failed to produce a lasting solution, leaving them with no option but to suspend work.

“Our children ask for food, but we have no answers left,” said one of the female sanitation worker, Bano, her voice breaking with emotion.

The strike has had visible consequences inside both hospitals. Patients and attendants complained of deteriorating cleanliness, particularly in washrooms and other high-risk areas where regular sanitation is essential to prevent the spread of infections although the Suthra Punjab workers are deployed in hospitals, they failed to tackle the medical oriented hygienic condition.

When contacted, the manager of the company said that the Punjab health department has outsourced the cleanliness mechanism of the hospitals but failed to release the necessary funds to the government due to closure of fiscal and now waiting for allocation of funds. He said that until the requisite funds are released to the company, it is not possible to release their wages.

The affected employees have urged the Punjab government, particularly Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, to intervene and ensure the immediate release of the outstanding salaries so that sanitation staff can return to work and normal cleaning operations can be restored without further delay.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026