Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday offered the the north and east municipal corporations of Delhi a loan of Rs 300 crore from the Delhi Development Authority, as the strike by corporation workers continued into its 10th day. He also appealed to MCD employee unions to end their strike and resume work in the interest of the city and the people of Delhi.

As garbage piles in the capital grew bigger, the Delhi High Court also slammed corporation workers and issued a notice to the unions of the three corporations and sanitation workers on a petition to call off their strike. It has sought a response from the corporations on the strike called by teachers, doctors and nurses who work under the MCDs. The High Court had earlier asked counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to appear before the bench immediately, ANI reported. Hindustan Times also reported that Delhi police wrote to MCD commissioners to say that workers may commit suicide if the strike continued.

Earlier in the week, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea asking for its intervention in the ongoing stir, and said it could not take over the Delhi High Court’s functions. On February 2, the MCD told the High Court they did not have money to pay workers’ salaries for January and the coming months, and alleged that the Delhi government had not released money for the same.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for the strike since the Centre runs the civic body. Kejriwal stated the state government had released money for MCD salaries and also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into where the money had gone.